The move takes Essex--a provider of optoelectronic imaging, advanced signal processing and cyber-security services to the US Government and defense industry--from its previous digs just a few miles away at 9150 Guildford Rd., a 17,600-sf facility that the company leased back in 2001. "Our rapid growth over the past several years has created the need for a larger corporate headquarters," says Essex president and CEO Leonard Moodispaw. "This building offers us an excellent base from which to continue growing, and keeps us close to many of our customers."

Specifics of Essex's lease agreement with Corporate Office Properties Trust, the owner of 6708 Alexander, have not been made available. However, according to real estate services firm CB Richard Ellis's Baltimore Office MarketView for the first quarter of 2005, the average asking rental rate for office space in Columbia is $22.10 per sf.