Portsmouth post office to close down Saturday

PORTSMOUTH — The U.S. Postal Service announced the post office at the McIntyre Federal Building will cease operations Saturday, Aug. 31 and move to a new site at 345 Heritage Ave. over Labor Day weekend.

The retail window at the 80 Daniel St. location will be open until 12:30 p.m. Saturday and the lobby will remain open for post office box customers until 4 p.m., according to a USPS press release issued late Wednesday afternoon.

The new post office off Banfield Road will open Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 a.m.

USPS officials said throughout the summer they expected to leave the downtown site by the end of August.

The post office’s expected move to Heritage Avenue has been among top concerns of those opposed to the redevelopment plan for the 2.1-acre McIntyre site as proposed by city officials and its private partners Redgate/Kane.

Those who oppose the plan said all prior visions for redeveloping the downtown property included keeping the post office at the site. However, Redgate/Kane officials notified the USPS officials that the post office would have to vacate the site during renovations to the federal building, which is part of a larger redevelopment plan.

USPS officials met that charge by saying if they had to relocate the post office they would not return after the redevelopment was complete.

David Rouse, a real estate specialist with the USPS, repeatedly stated at a September 2018 meeting that “we have been told by both the city and their chosen developer that we have to relocate while the renovations occur. ... Once we leave the building, we’re not coming back.”

City officials in a press release this past February said Tom Samra, USPS vice president for facilities, agreed USPS will attempt to secure a suitable downtown space, possibly in a redeveloped McIntyre space. However, Samra in a Feb. 27 letter to Mayor Jack Blalock, said the post office would return downtown “if a space can be identified that meets our operational needs on terms that are acceptable to the postal service.”

He added “postal service operations are not supported by tax dollars,” and USPS must make decisions “in a manner that is as efficient and economical as possible.”

Effective Tuesday, post office box customers currently getting their mail at the Daniel Street office will be assigned a new post office box at the Heritage Avenue location. Full retail and shipping services also will be available at the Heritage Avenue office. The retail window hours of operation at Heritage Avenue are Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The post office box lobby will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

USPS officials stated “every effort is being made to make this transition as seamless as possible and there is no need for current box holders to file a change of address. Post office box mail will be automatically rerouted to their new box on Heritage Avenue.”

USPS officials acknowledged some downtown customers may not want to drive to the Heritage Avenue location. Post office box customers who wish to opt for street delivery of their mail should contact Officer-In-Charge Patty Svoleantopoulos at the Heritage Avenue post office to make those arrangements, they stated.