"That is indeed happening," confirms Garry Holmes, president of R.W. Holmes Realty who is marketing the bulk of the first class product coming available. A 17,000-sf block that has a few years of term left is being offered as sublease by Boston Scientific, but the remainder is being made available on a direct basis. Holmes would not discuss the tenant's reasons for trimming back, but one source maintains the medical devices company is simply trying to be more efficient by bringing back employees to its nearby headquarters at Prime Park in Natick. "That was their plan all along," says the source.

Although some observers have expressed concerns about the health of the economy, Holmes says he is encouraged by the initial response to the availability at Cochituate Place. "Fortunately, there are a number of companies around that are growing," he says. "I think we are going to get some good activity on it." That confidence is aided by the limited amount of supply available in the Framingham/Natick submarket, which has been among the tightest office districts in suburban Boston for more than a decade. Whereas Jones Lang LaSalle puts the Interstate 495/Massachusetts Turnpike office submarket at 14.3%, the Framingham and Natick slice is nearly half of that figure at 7.8%. "We are still doing quite well out here," relays Holmes, who is handling the Cochituate Place assignment with R.W. Holmes SVP Craig Johnston.

The sublease piece is on both the second and third floors of Cochituate Place. William Bailey of Jones Lang LaSalle has been handed that listing, sources indicate. Bailey and Boston Scientific officials did not respond to inquiries by press deadline.