Lagary says he will introduce the space to the market "on a sublease basis within coming days. This is an indicator of how tenants took a little too much and are now looking to return some space."

In an interview prior to Lagary's announcement with GlobeSt.com, W&M president Tony Malkin noted that subleasing is often an indicator of economic softening. As companies scrambled to acquire space in the hot market of 2000, many overestimated their needs, and in some cases their ability to maintain overhead. Malkin explained that subleasing often occurs in higher numbers when companies look to cut costs and alleviate their overhead, a clear sign of a bear market's impact on the real estate industry.

In this case, American Capital took 40,000 sf at the site, owned by Larry Silverstein, 18 months ago and is now returning 16,000 sf. This particular space is relatively small, but "the real movement will happen if the technology firms continue to take a bath and the financial services start laying people off," predicts Marcus Rayner of Cresa Partners. "Rents won't go down because demand remains high."