You should be used to it by now, and that's good -- because Main Street by the old Liggett & Myers plant is going to be closed for another couple of weeks.

That's the word from Courtney Brock of Blue Devil Partners, the outfit converting the cigarette complex into another Bull City outpost of urban hipness. Construction there has had Main Street closed, from Duke Street to the Loop, since Oct. 1. "We are doing lots of construction back and forth [across the street]," Brock said. "We're trying to condense into a month of closing rather than a week here, a week there."

When done, West Village Phase II is supposed to have apartment space for about 600 tenants, plus offices, stores and a parking garage. Brock said the first building should be ready for occupants about March 1.

Anti-Mall auctions off

Durham's "Anti-Mall" at 305 S. Dillard St. is closing as of next weekend, because its music died of building codes.

Last fling is an auction Oct. 27; the Electric Blender kitsch and retro-fashion shop will be open regular hours next week (except for auction day) and, depending on the auction outcome, will either keep the store open or go to dealing online.

Bike payback

The Bicycle Chain, 639 Broad St. (by Whole Foods), is clearing its inventory of 2007 models and offering rebates, in the form of gift cards worth up to $300 on in-store sales. See thebicyclechain.com for a list of available bicycles. The store is also selling gift cards outright, in-house or online.

Durham appreciates

According to The Wall Street Journal Online (online.wsj.com), Durham's second-quarter '07 median house price, $181,863, was up to 107.2 percent of what it was at the peak of the national housing bubble in the fourth quarter '05.

The mortgage-delinquency rate was 2.44 percent. Raleigh-Cary showed a higher rise -- 109.2 percent -- and a higher delinquency rate -- 2.52 percent.

Season's greetings

Mark your calendars: Santa Claus arrives in Durham Nov. 17.

That is, he and the missus have a gig at Southpoint shopping center, which is lighting a 50-foot Christmas tree and shooting off fireworks for the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Food city

There's a new Taco Bell going up, at the intersection of N.C. 54 and N.C. 55 next to All Tune and Lube.