"We really like the timing for when this is going to be delivered," says Neelon Properties principal Christopher Neelon, whose family owned firm anticipates the six-story building will open next fall on a site it has controlled for a half-century. Having weathered another Massachusetts meltdown earlier this decade that put even Waltham in dire straits, Neelon and co-developer Normandy Real Estate Partners were spurred to move forward by the city's impressive rebound that has rents above $40 per sf and a slate of competitors looming on the horizon. In acknowledging the brisk activity surrounding Tuesday's groundbreaking of the $38-million building, Normandy principal Raymond Trevisan tells GlobeSt.com that the undertaking makes sense despite the lack of a signed tenant or any immediate prospects.

"You hate to be the last one out of the ground," he says, and competitors such as Boston Properties, Davis Marcus Partners and Hobbs Brook Management are already forging ahead or about to begin new office construction. By one estimate, more than three million sf of new office space is in the pipeline for the central Route 128 belt anchored by Waltham. Others are racing to secure existing product with an eye towards quick redevelopment, as in the case of the building being overhauled next door to the Overlook Center groundbreaking. A large banner advertising available space draped one side of that property, the Bear Hill Business Center.

Alternatives aside, attendees at the Overlook Center fete predict good times ahead for the project, including Jones Lang LaSalle broker Alex Dauria, who is orchestrating the leasing program. "This is going to add to the new landscape of Waltham," says Dauria, praising architects Perkins+Will for a sleek design that incorporates glass curtain wall and an illuminated mast that will be seen north and south along Route 128.