CHARLOTTE-The low-profile incubator in the University of North Carolina's Charlotte Research Park is going after venture capital for the first time. More than 90 businesses have graduated from the 14-year-old campus with 60 still existing.

RALEIGH, NC-Stringent government regulations and activist resident groups often block efforts by owners of mixed-use projects to use land more efficiently and reduce vehicular traffic, attendees at an International Council of Shopping Centers conference here were told. Raleigh is 200 miles northeast of Downtown Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE-The third-party distribution company plans to replace its 346,000-sf warehouse with a 350,000-sf structure on 79 farmland acres in Cabarrus County near Harrisburg, NC, a growing warehouse hub, 10 miles northeast of Downtown Charlotte. The estimated cost of the project is $8 million.

RALEIGH, NC-Local developer John Kane has signed a letter of intent to purchase North Hills Mall 2000 from the O'Connor Group of New York for an undisclosed sum. Tenants suspect the deal, tentatively scheduled to be closed by year end, will be delayed

CHARLOTTE-Southern Development Partners pays First Charter Bank $3.5 million or $51.47 per sf for the seven-story, 68,000-sf former Home Federal Savings Building at 139 South Tryon St. About $4 million in renovations is expected to be completed by next summer.

CHARLOTTE-Developers, residents and community leaders here are heading to court in unprecedented numbers. Corporations have big bucks and expensive lawyers on their side to fight the disputes. Residents rely on strident voices to sway judges.

CHARLOTTE-The 40,000-sf Tompkins Machine Shop building, getting a $6 million new face in the city's south end, will house the Richmond, VA-based law firm McGuire Woods in 8,000 sf and Frontier Capital in 3,500 sf. Both are estimated three year-to-five-year leases.

CHARLOTTE-The planned $450-million optical fiber plant expansion in Concord, NC, 20 miles northeast of Downtown Charlotte, will make the 149-year-old Corning, NY-based company the world's largest manufacturer of fiber optics, the firm says.