Details of the lease were not provided, but documents indicate Riverview Commerce Center is offering space for as little as $12 per sf. That rate is ahead of the average asking rent for flex space in Greater Boston, which Jones Lang LaSalle puts at $11.20 per sf in its third quarter report. Unfortunately for regional landlords, the Merrill lease did little to dent the substantial supply remaining. Fomented by the high-technology surge enjoyed along I-495 at the turn of the decade, numerous properties such as the Riverview Commerce Center cascaded on the scene just before the abrupt burst of the tech bubble in mid-2001. I-495 North was among several submarkets which saw vacancies rush into the 40% range once the recession took hold.

Conditions have improved, with the market overall registering positive net absorption for flex space at plus 577,000 sf. through three quarters, according to JLL. I-495 is up by 75,000 sf for the year, but the submarket had a difficult third quarter, dropping into the red by 28,000 during that three-month stretch. The submarket also has the second highest vacancy rate among seven tracked by JLL, partly a result of having more inventory of flex space than any other at 9.3 million sf.