Ryan P. Curtis (left) and Darryl C. Morse (right) are shoring up the Codman Co.’s presence in Cambridge, a city known for its brokerage talent. Standing in between them is their client Dr. F. Rick Harnden Jr., a scientist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which can be seen in the background.

Quick quiz: What do you get when you combine a former dairy farmer with a professional lacrosse player?

In the case of Darryl C. Morse and Ryan P. Curtis, the result is the Codman Co.’s Cambridge Real Estate Team. As Boston-based Codman strives for blanket coverage of the Bay State, Morse and Curtis are shoring up the firm’s presence in Cambridge, among the world’s most recognized – and complicated – commercial real estate markets.

“It’s very dynamic,” concurred Morse, who has been working in Cambridge for 12 of his 16 years in commercial real estate after migrating to the Hub from his family’s Vermont dairy farm. During those dozen years, the city has more than doubled its supply of office, research and support space, with buildings lining the core Red Line transit system from the Charles River outward to Belmont.

Lured by the presence of such think tanks as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge has become an epicenter for launching and attracting globally recognized companies, a phenomenon underscored by the recently published Milken Institute study that places Cambridge at the top of the heap for attracting biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

“The best thing that ever happened to me was that I landed in Cambridge,” said Morse, acknowledging that the brokerage talent in the community is as cutting-edge as the companies it attracts. From former Insignia colleague Gregory Lucas and Meredith & Grew Oncor’s Joseph P. Flaherty to Trammell Crow Co.’s Joseph P. Fallon and the Richards Barry Joyce & Partners team of Robert B. Richards Jr. and Steven M. Purpura, Cambridge brokers undeniably rank among the nation’s best, Morse agreed, although he is putting competitors on notice that Curtis could quickly reach the top level despite barely a year under his belt covering the city.

“I think he’s going to be very successful in the business,” said Morse, citing Curtis’ attributes such as honesty, work ethic and an unwavering desire to excel. After a chance encounter following a Boston Cannons lacrosse game, where three-time All-Star Curtis earned league honors as the top defenseman, Morse was so impressed with his makeup that he later called the University of Virginia standout and invited him to join Codman’s Cambridge operation.

“The clients really enjoy him a lot,” said Morse, who stressed character issues as a critical component of longevity in the real estate industry. “We work extremely well as a team,” he added, with the pair having drawn up an ambitious business plan for the near term, complete with target revenues and aims such as gaining exclusive representation of a prominent Cambridge commercial building.

According to Curtis, whereas one such listing is plenty, two would be excessive.

“It’s very difficult to represent your client and a competing owner two buildings away,” he explained. “Our goal is to get one major listing and work very hard to make it successful for them.”

They also want to ensure that the listing will not hinder their representation of other properties in the area, Morse added, with the pair currently holding exclusive listings for properties in the Allston, Brighton and Somerville markets.

A ‘Fabulous’ Year

Morse also has had a firsthand view of the burgeoning inner suburban commercial markets. The success of Cambridge in the late 1990s led to development or renovation of buildings throughout Brighton, Watertown, Malden, Medford and Everett, with even hardscrabble Chelsea attracting a number of tenants as the new millennium took hold. The subsequent struggles – including Cambridge seeing its vacancy rate skyrocket from 0 percent in 2000 to nearly 20 percent today – have left many inner-suburban properties fighting for tenants, especially with Cambridge rents a fraction of what they were at the market’s peak.

According to Morse, the greatest reason for the eroding fundamentals were a building boom ironically sparked by a planned Cambridge moratorium on new construction. “That had a lot to do with [the supply imbalance],” said Morse. “Everybody wanted to get their building out of the ground while they could.”

Considering the industry’s roller coaster ride, Morse said a key to surviving is to align oneself with good clients and continue servicing them as they expand. What may seem like a tiny assignment one day could lead to a bigger deal down the road, he noted, as was the case with ITA Software. Morse began representing the travel technology firm four years ago when it had 14 employees. A year later, he helped them expand into 8,500 square feet at 141 Portland St. to accommodate 40 employees, and just recently, ITA expanded to 25,000 square feet at the Kendall Square property. According to ITA Director of Business Planning Craig Stemlach, “Every one of our real estate transactions have been successful with Darryl’s involvement.”

“Darryl ensures our rights as a tenant are protected and well represented,” Stemlach continued, offering that the Codman principal “always finds the right space to meet our needs.” ITA now has 90 employees and was nominated as Cambridge’s leading-edge company for 2003 by the local chamber of commerce.

Equally impressed with Codman has been Dr. F. Rick Harnden Jr., a scientist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge who headed up the group’s search committee for a new building to consolidate three locations. “It was fantastic,” Harnden said of the service provided by Morse, Curtis and Codman Co. principal Drew Nelson, a suburban specialist who also toiled on the Smithsonian requirement.

“‘Tireless’ is the only way to describe Darryl and his guys,” said Harnden, with the search process lasting over two years. “They just kept coming and coming and coming.” The effort ultimately led to an 81,500-square-foot build-to-suit facility to be constructed at Cambridge Discovery Park, the former Arthur D. Little headquarters in the city’s Alewife district. Along with praise for the ownership at the Bulfinch Cos., which is slated to begin construction on the 6-story building next month, Harnden said he believes Codman met all of his organization’s objectives in the search.

The Smithsonian deal was just one of several significant transactions completed by Morse and Curtis in 2004, with the pair also completing a 22,000-square-foot lease for ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp. in Woburn, a 22,500-square-foot lease for the Cambridge Health Alliance at 5 Middlesex Ave. in Somerville and a 17,000-square-foot deal for the New England School of English at 36 JFK St., also in Cambridge. “It has been a fabulous 2004,” Morse agreed. “We’ve been extremely happy with what we have achieved in what has been a very difficult market.”