The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners voted Nov. 25 to hire Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to conduct an occupancy study examining whether county departments could relocate to space at the Studebaker Edge Complex.

Bill Salio, the county’s economic development director, said the study will assess space-allocation needs for each department, adjacencies, and high-level cost estimates. Salio described the proposal as a "vanilla box" evaluation of current building shells (Buildings 84, 112 and 113) and noted the county is particularly focused on Building 113 and some space in Building 112.

The base proposal in the packet was $48,600; Salio asked the board to approve a not-to-exceed amount of $55,000 to allow for optional deliverables such as additional concept spacing and design materials. He said the firm expects to deliver initial recommendations in six to seven weeks, recognizing the holiday season may add time.

Commissioners voted to approve the contract as presented. The study is intended to inform any future decision about relocating county offices and will be followed by detailed cost estimates and potential next steps if staff recommends moving forward.