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As many of you know, this year the City of Reno was opting to purchase the historic Downtown Post Office from the United States Postal Service (USPS). The 1934 Frederic DeLongchamps' designed building is included in the city's downtown redevelopment plan and was being looked at as a retail/restaurant/office complex. There is even talk of perhaps using part of the building as a cultural/visitor center. If the purchase went through, the postal retail segment would remain and proceeds from the sale would have been used to build another postal operations building.
The downtown Reno Post Office.
The building was assessed at 5.1 million dollars and the sale was scheduled to close this summer. However, because of the economic climate the redevelopment money was not available this year. There is also a question on where the funding would come from for the rehabilitation of the building. Future maintenance and operating costs would be contingent on leasing the building but that downtown market is looking bleak right now and will probably continue for a few years.
The Redevelopment Agency will still be studying all opportunities of striking a deal with the USPS. One possibility is to exchange the post office for another city owned property. Another opportunity maybe that the USPS donates the building to the city. This has occurred in other communities but the details are still being researched.
One distressing fact that was mentioned in the City Council liaison report by Councilman Dan Gustin to the Historical Resources Commissioners in September was that there are some structural problems with the building. Also, archeological engineers have found the building needs a seismic retrofit. These were new developments. HRPS will let you know of any future structural reports when they become available.
For the time being, the USPS will still operate its retail business and PO boxes will be available at the Downtown Post Office. However, it was recently announced by the USPS that the downtown station will no longer house the carriers that deliver Zip Codes 89501 and 89512 and people will now have to go to a different Post Office to retrieve parcels and mail requiring a signature. It is hard to say if this change has anything to do with the future of the building.
HRPS will keep you informed about the progress of this significant Reno building. Stay tuned. An article about the building of the post office can be found in HRPS Footprints Winter 2008 issue.
Article by: Cindy Ainsworth
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