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June 19, 2008 - 10:02AM
Updated: June 19, 2008 - 7:17PM
Q.C. approves land sale for new post office
Sarah J. Boggan, Tribune
Queen Creek will be paid a single dollar for acres of prime real estate in its burgeoning town center area for a new post office. The Town Council approved Wednesday the sale to the U.S. Postal Service of a 4.3-acre parcel on Ellsworth Loop Road south of Ocotillo Road.
The sale, which will end up costing the town about $3,000 in closing costs, was the catalyst to bringing a new, larger post office to the growing town, Town Manager John Kross said.
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The current post office east of the new site on Ellsworth Road just south of Ocotillo Road is small and overburdened, and some residents have long desired a larger facility. In addition to the town, the office also serves areas of unincorporated Pinal County that share Queen Creek as the mailing address.
After years of discussion, Postal Service officials said they expect to have money available to build the new post office soon.
Town officials said the Postal Service plans to build a 22,000-square-foot post office with more room for central operations and a larger retail area. It is expected to replace the old post office as well as a sorting facility on Ocotillo east of Ellsworth.
As part of the purchase agreement, Queen Creek officials wanted a provision saying that if the Postal Service does not begin construction of the post office in the next year or if the property is ever used for anything other than a post office, ownership will revert back to the town. Postal officials said that provision was unacceptable, the staff report said.
A time line in Wednesday night's staff report shows that the town plans to close escrow on the property by the end of July and then approve construction permits by the end of August. The town anticipates the Postal Service will begin construction by the end of September with an opening of the office slated for August 2009.
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