On one level, it's just another dirt deal, but as with any transaction, there's a backstory. In this case, it weaves rising land prices and hefty profits, a broken deal, a growing college and one relieved rival.

Two years ago, Granite, a Mount Airy developer, paid $4.1 million for the land that stretches from N.C. 54 and Watkins Road northeast to Paramount Parkway, just inside Interstate 540. At the time, Granite's partners considered breaking ground on a mixed-use development -- retail, apartments, townhouses and maybe some offices -- by 2007.

That didn't gain traction. So Wake Technical Community College swooped in, paying $8 million for 76 of the acres; it plans to begin building a western campus in 2012.

It's a handsome gain for Granite: on a per-acre basis, the company more than doubled its investment. Making the deal sweeter: Granite got to keep land that likely will be used for retail development.

"The partnership mulled it with a very open mind," says Granite principal Grady Matthews. "If it had made the most sense to develop it, we would have looked at that. But it made more sense just to flip it."

Granite's happy ending may send mixed messages to a real estate market looking for clear answers.

The climax shows that choice commercial acreage still commands pretty prices, even in a slow economy. But the action carries a theme of caution.

The credit crunch has made it hard for many investors to borrow money for acquisitions and development. Meanwhile, demand for offices and shops -- a crucial element in persuading lenders to let loose what little they are willing to lend -- has softened.

Matthews says the credit crunch had nothing to do with Granite's decision to sell. But it may have something to do with Wake Tech's ability to buy.

Granite has been trying to sell the land for more than a year. If the economy were humming as it was two years ago, a sale would have long since closed.

The property is central to the region and close to Interstate 40 and the airport in a competitive office market.

Developers paid attention. One of them even had the land under contract. But that deal fell apart, allowing Wake Tech to come to the table.

The biggest winner in the Wake Tech deal may be a developer who chose not to buy the land early last year.

Duke Realty owns Perimeter Park, a massive office and industrial park adjacent to the tract. The Indianapolis real estate investment trust scoped out the land but decided to pay $11.8 million for another 150-acre tract instead.

By passing on the Granite tract, Duke was leaving the door open to competitors. Granite -- or any other developer, for that matter -- could have built something that competed with Duke's 2.9 million square feet of offices and warehouses at Perimeter.

Instead, Duke ended up with Wake Tech's third major permanent campus as a neighbor. The finished campus could serve 7,000 students, focusing on classes tailored for high-tech companies, an amenity that may help lure tenants to Perimeter.

"It's not competition," says Jeff Sheehan, a Duke senior vice president. "It's complementary."

Duke University Health System has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet at Duke Medicine Plaza on Wake Forest Road, just north of Interstate 440 in Raleigh. The deal brings occupancy in the two-year-old building to 92 percent and allows Duke to offer ophthalmology and pediatric services in the area, said CB Richard Ellis, the Raleigh brokerage that represented the landlord.

Novarra, a Chicago mobile Web software company, has agreed to lease 8,350 square feet at CentreGreen Two off West-on Boulevard in Cary. The seven-year-old, 100,000-square-foot building is fully leased, Highwoods Properties says.

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