SiliconBeat

One silver lining of the current downturn, at least as far as businesses leasing space goes,  is that rents are getting cheaper.

Vivus, the Mountain View pharmaceutical company, extended the lease it signed two years ago on its corporate headquarters at 1172 Castro Street and is getting the rent lowered from $1.85 per square foot to $1.64, lowering the current monthly payment from $26,338 to $23,349 starting Aug. 1 and expiring July 31, 2011, according to a filing the company made Thursday, and compared to the original lease.