The musty and deteriorating offices above a row of Munroe Street commercial buildings are gone, replaced by fresh windows, walls, lighting and, more importantly, a direct Internet connection that does not rely on dial-up telephone modems.

Oasis Development Co. headquartered at 140 Union St. ceremoniously unveiled the project Wednesday during an open house City officials heralded the rehabilitation of commercial office space along one of the business district's primary streets as a major step toward an economical revival.

Jeff Gibbons, Oasis Development's chief financial officer, said 10,000 square feet of office space was redone above Pennyworth's clothing store in the Tolman Building. Another 4,400 square feet was rehabbed in the commercial building once occupied by Belkin Stationary.

The company plans to begin design of the project's second phase, which involves gutting the adjacent Sherry Building, formerly the site of Goldberg's.

The effort also includes restoring the historic Lynn hardware building, and constructing a new structure where Jerry's department store once stood, according to Gibbons.

"We have tenants actively interested in leasing the Belkin building, and others are looking at the Tolman building." He said. "Both of these buildings have direct, fiber-optic cable connections to Shore. Net, which is right across Oxford Street. We ran conduit under the street. We don't have to depend on telephone cable, which is much slower when it comes to sending data from your computer."

The office space will lease for $18 per square foot, on par with the newly rehabilitated commercial property in the Clock Tower building on the Lynnway.

Commercial space in Boston is leasing for $80 to $100 per square foot.

"Every tenant will have a home run back to Shore.Net a direct loop," said Gibbons, referring to private lines designated for computer use that connect directly to the Internet service provider. "The tenant won't have to share it so there will be no interrupted access. But best of all it'll be eight times speed of a standard T3 telephone connection."

Fiber-optic lines allow Internet connection speeds that push the limits of standard computer equipment. Since the user no longer depends on a modem, to funnel information, the speed of data transmission hinges primarily on the computer's microchip processor.

"It's gotten to the point where you are running past your equipment," Gibbons said. " Now the limit is the chip. It comes down to how fast your computer can read data. That's the limitation. With direct fiber-optic connection, you don't even need a router. All the tenant needs is a file server. It's almost plug-and -play. You just call up Shore.Net and turn it on."

Shore.Net founder Lowell Gray hosted a demonstration during the open house that featured two large video screens.

Identical files were loaded simultaneously-one using a standard 56K modem, the other a 100 megabit fiber-optic pipeline. The difference was obvious and caused several jaws to drop. In addition to its high speed, the fiber-optic system delivered clear video images, while its competitor's screen was blocky and pixilated.

Gray said the connection to Shore.Net is part of an experiment aimed at enhancing the Goldblock Project, Connectivity seemed the most frequently used word among those touring the new space.

Oasis Development initially proposed building a series of cyber suites, living quarters with workstation for those who telecommute and required high speed Internet service. But the concept was scrapped in favor of traditional office rehab with fiber-optic connections.

"The technology changed so our plans changed with it," Gibbons said. "The cyber suite concept came and went."

Although the construction of office space with fiber-optic links isn't technologically ground, breaking, the Lynn project stands out because of its affordability, access to public transportation, and adequate parking, Gibbons said.

Compared to offices in the Clock Tower building, "We're less visible but more accessible," Gibbons said, "The Clock Tower is hard to get to, an once you're there, you don't want to leave because there's nothing else around it."

"Our project is right down town, next to a big parking garage, the train station and the bus stop. We also have our own private parking. The way the market is right now, there's enough of a demand. I don't think we'll have any problem finding tenants."

Oasis Development estimates it will invest $23 million in the project in the project over all, excluding the cost of buying the building from the city-an estimated total of $200,000.

"We're 1,000-percent behind what they are trying to do," said City Development Director Stephen Harausz, "This has been kind of a work in progress. With projects like this, you have to be able to respond to the market conditions as they evolve. As the design changed, we had to change, and we are prepared to go forward with our share."

Harausz said Oasis Development is banking on city participation, in obtaining low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and municipal tax credit that would give temporary exemption on capital investment. "All of this ties into our downtown revitalization plans for Central Square, where we want to install antique lighting, brick sidewalk, and bring a little bit of Back Bay to that part of the city," Harausz said.

The Clock Tower building will soon be home to Shore. Net, which was purchased by Primus.Lightbridge, a software company, also plans to lease space in the Lynnway building.