First Class Redevelopment Opportunities
Ever notice how many U.S. Post Offices tend to be outdated single-story structures with very little street appeal, particularly in urban areas. Wouldn’t these often auto-oriented, low intensity uses be perfect redevelopment sites? The Post Office at 23rd and Union seems like a good opportunity, as does the one at Broadway, across from a future light rail station!! The Post Offices in Ballard and Wedgewood also come to mind. These are just a few examples in Seattle, but I imagine there are abundant such opportunities in cities across the country. The Post Office, or GSA, who likely owns and manages Post Office properties, is sitting on a potential gold mine (once the market recovers, anyhow). Forget about annual stamp price hikes and reducing the number of delivery days, the USPS should get into the development biz. Or, if these agencies aren’t so revenue motivated, then they could put these properties to greater public benefit, anyhow. Out of curiosity I searched the USPS and GSA websites to see if there were any programs focused on redevelopment of Post Offices. Aside from a few redevelopment projects creating large Federal complexes that include Post Offices, there is no such program, which doesn’t surprise me.