New Building For Post Office Deemed “Unlikely”

February 18, 2010 by Josh Morgan

Residents can expect to see a new post office in town sometime in the future, but it might not be quite what everyone was expecting.
As recently as two years ago, the U.S. Postal Service seemed committed to building a new facility near Highland Bowl, on Route 10, after pressure had been applied by U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd's (D-CT) office and consistent badgering from Town Hall had seemingly done the job. Yet, the most recent updates about a new post office seem to suggest that the prospects of a newly-constructed home is all but dead.
"We heard nothing on new post office construction," said Town Manager Michael Milone. "They have stopped talking to us about doing anything on that site. What they plan to do outside of that, I don't know right now."
According to the U.S. Postal Services Public Spokesperson Maureen Marion, the Postal Service is actively looking for a new facility in Cheshire that is already built, with the odds of building a brand new facility being “very slim.”
"We are looking at a multitude of options in Cheshire and that most likely does not include putting a shovel in the ground for building a new facility," Marion said. "The Post Office isn't in the building (construction) business anymore. In all candor, many of our communities have existing space we could be in."
The lease the Postal Service had for its current facility at 210 Maple Ave. expired at the end of December and, currently, they are in a holdover tenancy, or a month-to-month lease, with the landlord. She said that as long at the Post Office pays its rent, it can stay in the building on Maple Avenue, but, as it stands right now, Marion stated the facility is not part of the long-term plan for the Postal Service.
"We are still at the earliest point of deciding on where we could go," Marion said. "We have not been able to come to a mutually agreeable deal with the landlord so, unless something changes, we are proceeding as if we have to move."
Marion remarked that the Post Office has a flyer hanging in the facility now, advertising the fact that it is looking for new real estate, and they even took out an ad in a local newspaper looking for space. Marion said that, ideally, both the post office and carrier services would be located in one facility, but she said they have not ruled out separating the two entities in Cheshire, if need be.
Recently, workers from the Postal Service have been canvassing the town, taking note of “For Lease” and “For Rent” signs posted along buildings. However, Marion said you can only glean so much from the “curb” and, over the next few weeks, she said Postal Service representatives would be visiting sites to see if they could fit its needs.
"We are literally putting feet on the street, people are walking around, looking at signs for rent or for sale," Marion said. "We will go out and start looking closer at sites as soon as next week."
In November 2007, the USPS came in with revised plans for a 4,400-square-foot facility with additional service windows and parking spaces, but Town officials were told construction wouldn’t occur for at least two years. While the Postal Service won't construct a new facility from the ground up, she said they would do improvements to a building to help it better suit their needs. She said there are certain needs for the Post Office, such as adequate parking not only for its customers but for employees and the mail trucks.
"We have a need and we need to act aggressively," Marion said. "We are treating this as an accelerated need. A holdover tenancy is not the best for us long term."
Marion said no options have been taken off the table, thus far, but stated that the Postal Service needs to be "flexible for the long run." When asked how long a typical transition from facilities would take, Marion said they cannot "put a good figure" on moving times.
"It's different in each area. We need to determine what we can spend, what we have to do and where we can go," Marion said. "Every community has its own needs. Sometimes, the right building is right around the corner and in some locations, it's a tougher fit."
said Marion, "Whatever we can do that makes the most sense, that's what we're looking to do."