Like many other major corporate Alabama real estate sales users, AT&T Paradyne changes rarely involve manufacturing facilities (although some consolidation of operations is being done) and frequently involve expansion and relocation of field offices. "We look for easy access to our customer base," Jones says, "and (for properties) in the mid-range of the market." Sometimes those relocations are right next door.

Jones cites a recent move from a Class-A office tower in Atlanta to a refurbished mid-range building nearby. "We had gone into the Triple-A building when the market was so soft you could pick and choose," she says, "but since the market has tightened rents are on the increase. We relocated strictly to reduce rents, but do not feel we are compromising at all." With a limited staff and this size workload, Jones turns to out-sourcing for assistance. "We do not use brokers who list different properties," she says. "We do use tenant representatives."

Tenant Representation Louis Dombrova, president of Tampa, Fla.-based Paladin Group Inc., says recognition of the benefits of tenant representation has taken giant steps forward since he went into the business seven years ago. "We spent most of our time originally trying to convince people of the benefits," he says. But all that has changed. "One reflection of the recession," Dombrova notes, "is the tremendous drive to reduce expenses. If you go from a real estate department of five people to two, you still have the same amount of transactions to handle.

So companies are having to out-source - bring in outside people. If you have 15 leases expiring at once, you can call us, and say you need our help for 60 days; that's a lot cheaper than maintaining a full-time staff."

Dombrova explains that pinpointing the precisely optimum area is critical to both field office location and to larger relocations. In the first case, he says, "we are seeing that the access to prime arteries of the community in conjunction with the location of the customer base are primary concerns. With relocations a third aspects, especially if it is more than five miles away, is the question of where the employee base has settled. If you're talking more than five miles, you can lose employees." The issue centers around the fact that in major cities, five miles farther away from home can make transportation and other arrangements impossible, particularly for lower-salaried employees.

Steve Scruggs points out, also, that "corporations are not monolithic; they don't want just to pick up and move people. In other words, you can't just look at the numbers on paper." Richard Ackerman, senior vice president, Crocker & Co., Boca Raton, Fla., reports that his firm recently has been involved with several major corporate relocations of a very specific sort: "Most of the corporate moves that are going to be coming here," he says, "are going to be looking for very sophisticated space." That factor, plus the Florida lifestyle and the proximity of three major airports, were key factors in the decision by international conglomerate W.R. Grace & Co. to move the bulk of its corporate staff from New York to the 200,000 sq. ft. Crocker Tower office building in Boca Raton.