North Star Construction will serve as the construction manager on the project. Officials hope the building will be completed by the end of the year.

County council voted 8-1 on a plan that would allow for them to enter into a lease with the developer of the new building, Polaris Properties.

Plans call for a three-story, 66,375-square-foot building that will sit on 5.36 acres, and offer 256 parking places. They were presented to council last month, but a vote was tabled until more information could be gathered on the project.

"We are very excited to have such a great facility, it will be a much better location for people," said the county's Director of Administration Thomas Harp.

The county will lease the building, with option to buy at a later date. Rent for the first year of the 15-year-lease has been calculated at $11.65 per square foot or $773,269.

The building's construction would allow for the county's veterans, mental health and children and youth services to be centrally located; they are now in the Governor Wolf and Bechtel Buildings in Easton which were purchased for $912,000 in 1986 and $736,000 in 1993, respectively. Officials intend to use the proceeds from the sale of the two buildings towards the financing for the new building.

While officials said plans are "imminent" to sell the two buildings, no concrete offers on the properties have been made.