"We'll start construction in March, if not sooner," says Mark McCaslin of McCaslin Co., the Century City brokerage firm that has been finding tenants for the long-awaited, 34-story office tower at Constellation Boulevard and Century Park West. "The project is definitely a 'go.'"

Although ground won't be broken for the new high-rise until next year, the road was paved for its development when entertainment giantMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. last week signed a contract valued at nearly $500 million to occupy 17 floors of JMB's proposed office complex. The 425,000-sf, 15-year lease deal assures JMB that the building, which McCaslin says will be called MGM Tower and feature the studio's mascot lion on the top, will be at least 70% full when construction is completed in the spring or summer of 2003.

There's a good chance that the building might be more than 75% or even 80% full when its doors finally swing open. McCaslin says he's"negotiating right now with several major prospects," but won't say who they are. However, other Westside brokers tell GlobeSt.com that aircraft-leasing giant International Lease Finance Corp. is among a number of prospective tenants who want at least 100,000 to 150,000 sf in the new building.