Kanata woos federal departments to fill high-tech void

Officials in Kanata want to fillempty spacein theirformer high-tech hives with thousands of federal bureaucrats.

The federal government is looking to rent close to four million square feet of office space in the National Capital Region starting at the end of 2011, and the Kanata Chamber of Commerce is hoping it will pick space in Kanata.

"Everyone in Kanata is very anxious about it, because we truly believe that bringing this sort of infrastructure into our community is absolutely great," said Brent Lavery, president of the chamber of commerce.

Developers andproperty managershave until the end of the month to respond to the government's request for proposals.

Companies such as Nortel and Dell built sprawling campuses in Kanata, but they and other high-tech companies have announced thousands of cuts at local offices over the past several years.

Lavery said about 20 per cent of the suburb's office space is currently vacant, comparedwiththree per cent in downtown Ottawa, and rental costs in Kanata are half of what they are in the city centre.

He said attracting the government would provide a real boost to the area.

"When you have a healthy business environment it provides employment for a lot of the families that are already in the neighbourhood."

Pierre Poilievre, Conservative MP for the neighbouring riding of Nepean-Carleton, said the government should give suburban real estate fair consideration, as it can offer lower prices and shorter commute times for public servants.