The Bronx General Post Office has been sold. There’s no word yet on who the buyer is or what the plans for the building are, but the post office was definitely sold two weeks ago. On the USPS-CBRE website, the listing says simply, "Sold." The Postal Service has not made an official announcement about the sale, and it is apparently … Read More
Historic Post Office in Mankato, MN headed for sale
The Postal Service has announced its intention to sell the historic post office in Mankato, Minnesota. A USPS rep will speak to the City Council about "relocating" retail services to another space at the June 23 meeting. Built in 1896, the Mankato Post Office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. There's an excellent post … Read More
Historic Greenwich CT post office soon to be a Restoration Hardware
The historic post office in Greenwich, Connecticut, will be reopening on May 16 as a Restoration Hardware Design Gallery of upscale home furnishings. The post office was sold in 2011 to real estate magnate Peter Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building and a Greenwich resident. The building is on the National Register for Historic Places. The renovation required a complete gutting … Read More
The plot thickens: An OIG solicitation, the Palmer Square Post Office, and the CBRE-LCOR connection
There were a couple of interesting developments this week in the story about how the Postal Service and its real estate broker CBRE are handling post office lease deals and the sales of postal properties. On Christmas Day, the USPS Office of Inspector General posted a solicitation notice looking for a supplier to do an analysis of the fair market value … Read More
Harlem’s College Station post office may be sold and “relocated”
The Postal Service has announced plans to close and sell another historic post office. The College Station post office on 140th Street in in Harlem was built under the New Deal, and it’s been serving the neighborhood since 1937. It looks like 2014 may be its last year of operation. As usual, the Postal Service says it plans to open a … Read More
Sale of historic Norwich post office not going anywhere, but post office may move to library
The Postal Service has been trying to sell the historic post office in downtown Norwich, Connecticut, but it's been having trouble finding a buyer. Nonetheless, there will be a meeting today to discuss the relocation, a meeting required by law. As with Berkeley, the Bronx, and many other cases, the Postal Service is going through a relocation process without … Read More
Post Offices sold and for sale: An update on the inventory
It’s not easy getting information out of the Postal Service about the properties it has sold or those it has earmarked for disposal, but thanks to investigative reporter Peter Byrne, a lot of news articles, and various other sources, there’s enough information out there to piece together a picture. Here’s what it looks like. Overall, the Postal Service has sold … Read More
Why did the Stamford post office close? Conflicting answers, disturbing questions
The Postal Service closed the Atlantic Street post office in Stamford, Connecticut, on September 20, 2013, on two-days’ notice to customers. A USPS press release dated September 18 explains that the closure was due to the fact that the Postal Service was advancing with the sale of the building but had not yet been able to arrange a new location … Read More
Group fights sale of Stamford post office
Stamford Advocate: "A federal judge has halted the sale of the historic downtown post office to a New York developer. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant granted a temporary restraining order last week to the National Post Office Collaborate, the Center for Art and Mindfulness and a former post office box holder who claims the U.S. Postal Service failed to follow proper procedure in closing the facility and … Read More
Sale of historic Stamford Post Office challenged in federal court
The historic post office in Stamford, Connecticut, closed on Friday, September 20, with just two days’ notice to customers. The Postal Service has made arrangements to sell the post office to a Westchester developer who plans to tear down a section of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The sale, however, is now being challenged … Read More
Postal Service closes Stamford CT post office: A “relocation” with no new location
The Postal Service is closing the historic 1916 post office in Stamford, Connecticut, on Friday — without ever having conducted a discontinuance study. That’s because the Postal Service classified the closing as a “relocation” rather than a “discontinuance.” Relocation decisions are covered by a different set of postal regulations, which are much less stringent than the regulations for closures, and … Read More
Film producer may buy historic Santa Monica post office
Looks like owning a historic post office is becoming a Hollywood fad. First producer Joel Silver (The Matrix, Die Hard) bought the Venice post office and turned it into a production studio and office. Now producer David Ellison (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, World War Z) is in talks to buy the Santa Monica post office. Ellison is at work on … Read More
PRC dismisses appeal to stop Berkeley post office sale
An appeal to stop the sale of the historic 99-year-old post office in Downtown Berkeley was dismissed by the Postal Regulatory Commission on Tuesday. The appeal, filed by Mayor Tom Bates, contends that the U.S. Postal Service should select a site for the Berkeley main post office’s relocation before selling the building and did not consider how the sale will … Read More
Santa Monica considers preservation covenant on historic (former) post office
The historic Santa Monica post office was shut down on June 29, and now the Postal Service is preparing to sell the building. City officials are looking for ways to protect the building by creating a “preservation covenant” that would, according to City staff, “prohibit the purchaser of the property, as well as all future owners of the property, from undertaking any … Read More
Going, going, gone: Historic post offices on the GSA’s auction block
When journalists ask the Postal Service which post offices might be sold, they’re typically referred to the USPS-CBRE website, as if it represents a complete list. But there are other post offices for sale, and a few of them are currently listed on the GSA auction site. Apparently, selling these properties didn’t turn out to be the boon the Postal Service may … Read More
Berkeley mayor files appeal with the PRC to stop the closure and sale of his city’s historic post office
Tom Bates, the Mayor of Berkeley, California, has written a letter to Ruth Goldway, Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, informing the PRC that he is “personally appealing the sale of the Berkeley Main Post Office because this transaction is not a relocation of services, it is in fact a sale of the historic building.” Mayor Bates notes that the … Read More