But the tightening market for space in New Jersey is sending growing companies further south in the state. The most recent example of this trend is the lease iNautix Technologies has signed for 78,400 sf at Boston Properties' One Tower Center in East Brunswick, a Middlesex County community 35 miles southwest of Newark. iNautix is the technology unit of DLJdirect, the on-line brokerage arm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. The new tenant will use the space as a technology development center, according to Suresh Kumar, president of iNautix.

The company is taking three floors at the 410,000-sf property, which recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation that included upgrades of its five-story atrium lobby, elevators and public facilities. The building is connected to a 405-room Hilton Hotel. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

"We have repositioned One Tower Center as a class A building, and this lease is an indication that the effort is bearing fruit," according to John Brandenbergh, vice president of marketing and leasing for Boston Properties in New Jersey. Brandenbergh was the in-house leasing rep for the building owner, while Ruth Ellman, SVP of DLJ Realty Services, handled the deal for iNautix.