We've been following the machinations of downtown development and asking simple questions. With the latest announcement from the Postal Service, as covered in the Daily Journal,
Earlier this month, the sale of the Burlingame Main Post Office, 341 Lorton Ave., was approved by postal officials, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman James Wigdel. A timeline for selling the property as well as the relocation process, which requires a public meeting, has yet to be set. But the announcement could be good news for Burlingame officials who have long eyed the central downtown property.
The Burlingame Post Office is about 13,400 square feet but only 4,100 square feet is needed, said Wigdel.
“The plan is to relocate all retail and P.O. Box operations currently housed in the Burlingame Main Post Office to a yet-to-be-determined new location in the same vicinity as the current post office that is appropriately sized for our current needs,” he said.
Similar things are happening in Palo Alto and caused the Daily Post editor, Dave Price, to ask on Monday why the Postal Service thinks downtown (Palo Alto) rent will be any less expensive than a paid-for building. He also questioned how much they will get for it due to zoning restrictions in PA. B'game may not have that restriction, but certainly the historic nature of the building and the tight parking have to be considered. There are still simple questions to be answered.
Just a heads-up bloggers on the upcoming public meeting on the future of the downtown Post Office.
Per the city, the Post Office Public Meeting will be held on Monday, April 16th at 6:00 p.m. in the Lane Room.
You may have seen the Daily Post article about Palo Alto telling the Postal Service they would like to buy their Post Office building and lease part of it back to the postal service. I'm not normally a big fan of municipalities getting into the commercial real estate business, but the very center of town and historic buildings might be an exception. Can anyone say "teen center"?!?
Posted by: Joe | March 28, 2012 at 10:58 AM
With all that marble and brass (the counter cages)--I can see a nice bar/restaurant with outdoor seating. This site can be a money generating machine for the city.
Posted by: JF | April 10, 2012 at 02:19 PM
That would be great except I think the Post Office is going to sell it off to the very highest bidder. That is likely to be some big condo developer with no interest in bringing in the 30th bar in the downtown area. The key will be keeping that part of the building intact at all.
Also, does anyone know when the Public Garden on top of Five Guys is opening?
Posted by: alan | April 10, 2012 at 06:44 PM