"Noresco has been an excellent tenant over the years, and we are happy that they have chosen to renew their lease with us," KBS AVP John Kolb says in a release announcing the agreement. The company is one of the largest energy services providers in the US, specializing in the design, construction, financing and operation of environmental efficiency projects and energy plants.

As exclusive listing agent of One Research Dr., Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts negotiated lease terms for the landlord. C&W brokers involved in that assignment were Meghan Clark, Kevin Hanna and J.R. McDonald. Noresco was represented by Eric Foster of Boston-based FHO Partners.

Featured prominently on a 30-acre site alongside the strategic intersection of Route 9 and Interstate 495, One Research Dr. is barely a mile from the Massachusetts Turnpike and is also accessible to a nearby block of hotels, restaurants and retail accommodating the Interstate 495 West business community. In-house, One Research Dr. offers such amenities as a full-service cafeteria, gymnasium and 140-seat auditorium. According to Kolb, KBS is actively marketing the remaining space in the 285,000-sf building to several promising prospects.

Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, KBS Realty Advisors is celebrating its 15th year in business as an SEC-registered real estate investment advisor. The company has completed more than $10 billion in transactions for 16 separate accounts in that time, and now has a controlling interest in more than 160 properties nationally. Active in the Illinois, Texas and Virginia markets, KBS has numerous office buildings in suburban Massachusetts in such communities as Acton, Boxborough, Chelmsford and Norwood. Besides One Research Dr., KBS also owns three other CRE properties in Westborough, all on Turnpike Road.

Despite a solid beginning to 2007, with C&W reporting positive absorption of 160,000 sf through mid-year, I-495 West still has the highest vacancy rate among any suburban Boston office submarket at 21.6%. The overall suburban average is 14.8%, and no other submarket is above 20%. Totaling 14.5 million sf, I-495 West also has the highest availability rate at 27.1%.