San Diego Union Tribune: The United States Postal Service is in the midst of a massive, 10-year effort to modernize its delivery network nationwide. Changes under the plan will affect two facilities in South County.

Chula Vista’s main post office has been selected as a location for a new sorting and delivery center, and Imperial Beach will have to relocate its mail carrier operations to Chula Vista. The changes have raised questions about the long-term future of Imperial Beach’s lone post office and overall mail delivery efficiencies.

Located on Third Avenue, the 56,500-square-foot Chula Vista facility owned by the Postal Service will undergo “significant upgrades” and will accommodate electric vehicle charging stations for carrier vehicles. It is unclear what the repurposing will look like or when carrier operations will leave Imperial Beach. A February letter from the USPS to the American Postal Workers Union said the Chula Vista location is considered for conversion in September into a sorting and delivery center.

USPS spokespersons declined to provide specifics about the new center, but said via email the conversion aims to improve local delivery by relocating carriers “where the mail is sorted, especially in overnight regional delivery for business customers” and will offer employees a “new, modern workplace.”

The expected changes have raised concern about the future of Imperial Beach’s 18,000-square-foot post office, its services and other buildings the USPS leases across the county, including in Coronado and Bonita. It is unclear whether employees who remain at the site will see their roles downgraded with the relocation of mail carriers.

City leaders and Rep. Juan Vargas, whose 52nd District includes Imperial Beach, said they are wary about future impacts, particularly as it relates to leased buildings.

“The community believes that relocating postal carriers will ultimately result in the Post Office closing in its entirety once the building lease expires,” said Vargas in a July 28 letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Read more: Chula Vista eyed as location for new USPS sorting and delivery center – The San Diego Union-Tribune