Total industrial leasing activity there for the quarter was 451,000 sf, and sales activity totaled 577,000 sf. GE Medical Systems' 188,000-sf sale/leaseback in Jupiter helped the leasing activity.

Deals that contributed to the hike in first-quarter sales from 225,000 sf at the end of last year included the sale of the above-mentioned GE/Marquette building to One Liberty Properties Inc., as well as the sale of the 161,000-sf Phillips Components building to Windsor Gardens Joint Venture. These two buildings were sold for $15.75 million and $7.1 million, respectively.

Even the negative 87,080-sf net absorption for the county in the first quarter is an improvement, compared with the negative 106,000 sf in the previous quarter and the negative 331,000 sf in the first quarter of 2002.