ABOUT 6000 square metres of

office space in Queanbeyan will be

left vacant once government

departments move into the new

state office building.

But despite the empty space,

Queanbeyan Business Council is

claiming this is a coup for the city.

The QBC along with Queanbeyan

City Council and Capital

Region BEC are discussing ways to

entice new businesses to take up

the vacancies.

The organisations have

combined forces to establish a

proposed Queanbeyan Development

Corporation to tackle issues

such as the vacant office space.

Former QBC president and real

estate agent Ian McNamee said

many businesses from outside

Queanbeyan would be attracted to

the city's office space.

''Queanbeyan has a very competitive

rental market and staff

won't need to pay for parking,'' he

said.

''This is a big thing about to

happen in our city.''

Mr McNamee said Queanbeyan

was always an attractive alternative

for business owners because

of its proximity to Canberra and

its facilities.

On behalf of the interim development

board, QBC has written to

building owners and commercial

real estate agencies to seek information

about affected properties.

The QBC will collate the information

into a confidential

database to enable the interim

development board to develop

coordinated strategies towards

finding new businesses to fill the

vacant space.

If successful, QBC will ask real

estate agencies to contribute to a

broader Queanbeyan confidential

vacancies database, including

properties not subject to the NSW

state office block such as industrial

and warehouse properties.

The interim development

board, made up of mayor Frank

Pangallo, QCC general manager

Gary Chapman, QBC president

Bill Baker, past QBC president Ian

McNamee and two councillors,

will continue to meet and discuss

the strategies.