KPLU Local News
(2010-03-05)
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Some major post office buildings in the Puget Sound area are up for sale. The U.S. Postal Service says, with revenues declining, it needs to do everything it can to raise some cash.
One of the properties on the market is the Queen Anne post office. The four-story building on lower Queen Anne is a neighborhood hub for people picking up packages, buying stamps or stopping by their P.O. box.
It's also the headquarters for the Seattle district of the U.S. Postal Service. Spokesman Ernie Swanson says, faced with significant losses, selling the building makes sense. "The feeling is that, if we sell it for current market value we would have the cash to put into our general operating fund," he said.
He says it doesn't mean that the Queen Anne post office will go away. It might be able to continue to lease from the new owners or find another facility to rent.
"It's a busy area and we need to continue to have a retail presence here, there's no doubt about that," he added.
Across the region, other post offices likely to be sold include the downtown Tacoma post office as well as main post offices in Redmond, Kirkland, Kent, Bremerton and Port Townsend.
This comes on the heels of the announcement that Saturday mail delivery may be eliminated. Swanson says all of the measures are an effort to insure the survival of the postal service. He says, while use has declined, he believes mail service remains a valuable part of American commerce. The U.S. Postal Service is accepting public comment on the building sales. Write to: U.S. Postal Service Consumer Affairs P.O. Box 9000 Seattle, WA 98109 © Copyright 2012, KPLU
