"We're actively looking again and are in the process of narrowing our choices," says Robert Alvarado, Network Element's vice president of personnel, who expanded the company from 5,000-sf less than a year ago. "We hope to (lock down space) within this month."

The new round of financing brings the company from the development stage to the mass production stage, meaning it's going to need lots more people for engineering, manufacturing and sales and marketing. As a result, the maker of a next-generation junction box that processes fiber-optic light waves much faster than current solutions has employed Jeff Valdes of Hume Meyers Tenant Council to find it as much as 100,000 sf of lease space to hold its rapidly expanding operations.

"We've taken a pretty extensive survey and are no longer really looking, though we're always open to new possibilities," says Valdes, adding that Network Elements is entertaining both flex-office product and class A product. "We're working fast and furious to bring this to a conclusion."