BRAINTREE, MA-Industry sources tell GlobeSt.com that local businesses are interested in taking over Bradlees Inc.'s leases. The discount chain store, based here, filed for Chapter 11 and has 35 stores in the state.

SOMERVILLE, MA-The battle over Assembly Square, a 145-acre site here, rages on as Ikea formally protests the zoning proposals being

BOSTON-BV Development Associates is beginning to lease the office buildings it is developing here in North Brighton, a largely residential neighborhood. The company believes that this area is an attractive pricing alternative for businesses to Downtown or Cambridge.

BOSTON-The city's tight market is convincing developers to look in unusual areas to develop office space. At lease that is what inspired Pappas Industrial to convert an old printing building in South Boston to first class office space.

HOLYOKE, MA-John S. Lane and Sons has a tentative agreement to buy 400-acres here. The parcel includes the former Mount Tom Ski Area, which is the largest mountaintop in the area.

BOSTON-Minnesota Attorney General Michael Hatch sues FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s mortgage division for sharing customers' personal information with telemarketers. The locally-based financial company denies the charges.

BOSTON-Despite increasingly wary lenders, InterCapital Partners secures financing for a luxury condo building next door to the Prudential Center here. The 65-unit project is now reportedly fully financed.

BOSTON-A significant drop in business at the Hynes Convention Center here has raised concern, especially in light of the new $750-million convention center due in two years. The drop is being attributed to the shortage of hotel rooms in the area.