CHICAGO-Real estate tech firm is unveiling new elements to its online lease-transaction platform over the next six months. Comro.com officials stress that the new service will not be designed to cut out the middleman.

LAFAYETTE, CA-Lotus Hotels wants the city to help replace its Hillside Inn and Suites here with a more upscale, 80-room facility aimed at business travelers; council members are thinking about it.

MACON, GA-The 48,000-sf facility will be featured in the center of the arts and entertainment district of the revitalized Downtown. Ground-breaking is set for February 2001. The grand opening is scheduled for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2003.