"The landlord was very cooperative during the negotiations,"Fitzgerald, who is SVP at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. "It agreed topay for the entire build-out, instead of just providing a tenantallowance for improvements." Fitzgerald attributes that concessionto the size of the lease--MPRI will be occupying stories twothrough seven as it moves into the building in phases. "Thebuilding owner's marketing program was geared to securing a tenantthat would lease half a floor to a couple of floors. MPRI isoccupying virtually the entire building," he says.

The asking rate for space at Braddock Rd is $32 per sf.Fitzgerald declined to provide figures about the lease or the costof the build-out, but a market source estimates the aggregate valueof the lease to be more than $40 million and the cost ofrenovations to be around $6 million.

The lease is the largest inked for a private sector company innearly 10 years in Old Town, according to CBRE. The building hasbeen vacant for more than a year after Public Broadcasting Servicerelocated to Crystal City in April 2006. During that time the lobbyand common areas underwent some revision. For MPRI, the building islarge enough to accommodate its consolidation of its Springfieldand Alexandria offices as well as to enable it to expand. Thecompany had considered other locations in Virginia but decided tostay in Alexandria, Fitzgerald says.