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Six years after starting out as a one-woman firm in 1997, Deborah Marlor's sales and marketing company was bursting at the seams. Her work force had grown from 12 employees to 32, occupying two separate but equally overcrowded business locations. It was, says Marlor, a business owner's nightmare.

"[It was difficult] managing two sets of employees, trying to ensure that messages were communicated across the company," recalls Marlor, 50, owner of DJM Sales & Marketing Inc. in Garden City, Idaho, a suburb of Boise. "We had a very difficult time managing our growth. We had people working at folding tables. We had used all our space. We had three [employees working] in our conference room and two people in my office."

The writing was on the wall: Until Marlor's firm left its cramped quarters, it would have a difficult time getting a handle on its growth. Her desire for more elbowroom and to consolidate her growing staff into one location led Marlor to an abandoned government office building--Garden City's former city hall. It was to be demolished, and a business park would be built in its place. Situated one block from a main commuting artery into Boise and along a major bus line, it was an ideal location for Marlor's business. "It was a great place for a business park," she observes. "It made a lot of sense for us."