"The lease has been signed," insists one industry professional tracking the negotiations. Others agree that Gutierrez has secured the deal and will move ahead soon on the building, although representatives from Gutierrez and Red Hat did not return phone calls by press deadline. The tenant is supposedly being represented by CBRE/New England principal Bruce Levine, who declined comment when contacted. The Westford Technology Park West is ultimately designed to accommodate nearly one million sf of office and flex space, with 175,000 sf currently developed. The space is all in one building at 310 Littleton Rd., which serves as the headquarters of another technology company, NetScout Systems. The company's term there runs until 2013.

Considering the hefty amount of existing space available in the I-495 office market, a build-to-suit approach might seem unnecessary, but observers say they believe Red Hat's specific needs were addressed by Gutierrez in design of the building. Gutierrez has been among the state's most active developers in the past two decades, offering expertise in the high-tech market that dominates the northern suburbs. "They can get just what they want," says one broker, noting that Red Hat has been operating in a sublease situation for the past few years.

Also, the amount of empty space has been trending downward, with Cushman & Wakefield reporting 88,000 sf of net absorption in the 17-million-sf market during the first quarter, putting the vacancy rate at 18.1%. While still high, the figure had reached 30% during the region's darkest moments, but is now less than 1% away from the overall suburban average vacancy of 17.2%. Much of the remaining space is not suitable for high-tech fit outs, say observers, further tightening the real alternatives for new age firms such as Red Hat.