"It's a real requirement," one industry source tellsGlobeSt.com, as opposed to an exploratory review. A below-marketsublease that had allowed Phase Forward to enjoy one of theregion's premier suburban addresses since 2005 will expire in early2009, and observers say the firm faces a doubling of its rent inorder to stay in the estimated 120,000 sf previously occupied byBMC Software. Calls to Phase Forward officials and to FHO Partnersprincipal John Boyle, said to be on the brokerage search team, werenot returned by press deadline. Nonetheless, sources insist FHO hasalready begun the assignment.

According to leasing broker Alex Dauria of Jones Lang LaSalle,Waltham Woods "sets the high mark for rents" in suburban Bostonthanks to high-end finishes and amenities, plus direct access andvisibility from Route 128. Therefore, any transaction would likelyexceed $40 per sf, but Dauria declined comment about the PhaseForward situation or whether ING anticipates being able to re-signthe firm at such a lofty rate. "They certainly seem to like thebuilding," says Dauria, whose firm is also leasing agent for 890St., the companion building in the park.

The breadth of Phase Forward's search is also unclear, butobservers maintain that the firm has already forayed into theBedford/Burlington market a few miles north of Waltham Woods. Onecontact told of a visit to the Sun Microsystems campus inBurlington that just traded for $212 million to Nordic Properties,but that could not be confirmed.