News of the deal caught officials at the Department of Human Services off-guard, who said they were aware that the location had been looked at many years ago but were unaware that anything concrete was in the works.

"It's still too new to react," said department spokeswoman Carol Sisco, whose office is in the downtown building.

The deal allows Human Services employees to stay in the building until they find a new location, which will likely take one to two years. Though there are no plans yet for where they will relocate, Stepan said those employees should not worry about being forced out with nowhere to go.

"There is no commitment yet for them," he said. "That's something that will have to be dealt with in the future. They'll stay in that building for as long as they need until they get a replacement space."

The primary concerns in finding a new location, Sisco said, is that it has accessible public transportation for employees and is close to other state agencies such as health and workforce services, departments human services works with closely.

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com; dsmeath@desnews.com