Big deals are on the increase.

According to CBRE, transactions above 50,000 s/f in the Fairfield County market rose 33% from the first quarter of last year to 354,650 s/ f as expansions from Boehringer Ingelheim and RBS Greenwich Capital paired with new leases from Arch Chemical, Cablevision End Light. Camera, Interaction to account for almost 35% of all demand thus far this year.

The average transaction, as a result, rose 6% from last March to 8,036 s/f.

In an interesting twist, however, most of these big deals took place in the central submarket, where the Merritt 7/ Danbury Road corridor. continues to attract newcomers to the area, despite renewed interest in Stamford.

In total, velocity in the central submarket rose 25% from last year to 280,010 s/f or 27% of all space leased in Fairfield thus far.

That segment, however, was not alone in its improvement, as nearly all the county's business communities benefited from increasing corporate confidence.

Boehringer Ingelheim's 98,000 s/f expansion at 39 Old Ridgebury Road boosted leasing in the north 83% from the first three months of 2005. while financial service companies spurred Greenwich's new commitment activity to a level 37% above last year, despite record low levels of available space.

But perhaps most Strikingly, the east, after years of backsliding due to paralysis in the back office and consumer products industries, finally saw a reversal of fortune to the tune of demand more than double the same period of last year--including a significant new commitment from HealthNet. one of the companies that put space back on the market in the past.

Altogether, activity in the east accounted for 20% of Fairfield's 2006 total so far. up from 7% at the same time last year.

Only Stamford saw less leasing this year than in the first quarter Of 2005, due primarily to the lack of a mega transaction comparable to GE Consumer Finance's 267.600 s/f commitment.

The Non-CBD's velocity, in fact, fell 64% from 12 months ago to just 140,340 s/f., In the CBD, however, the burgeoning growth evident at the end of 2005 continued into this year as significant new deals by Royal Bank of Scotland, Telekurs, USA, Bank of Ireland and Oak Hill Partners, among others, resulted in leasing 2% above last year at 209,090 s/f.

The city also saw three relocation transactions completed this year. more than any other submarket. Relocation activity into Fairfield, however. remains a weakness for a market that has always depended un external interest for many of its major transactions. Thus fat in 2005. the county only. saw six relocation deals done totaling 42,610 s/f.