Scottsdale's Osborn post office prepares for move

 The Scottsdale main post office's pending move will mean a change of mailing addresses for hundreds of customers.

The move from the current location at 7242 E. Osborn Road to a new, larger facility at 1776 N. Scottsdale Road is scheduled to take place Sept. 27.

The facility is expected to open two days later, said Peter Hass, a spokesman for the Arizona division of the U.S. Postal Service.

More than 900 post office box holders out of 1,951 will be issued a new box number as a result of the new configuration of post office boxes, which are being installed at the Scottsdale and McDowell roads location, said Hass.

The move from the Osborn site, which has been home to the post office for 42 years, was facilitated by neighboring Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital, which plans to take over the land. Once the Osborn mail facility is permanently closed, Scottsdale Healthcare plans to use the land for parking, said Keith Jones, the company's director of public relations.

The site will also give the hospital campus room to grow in the future. "Having this site gives the hospital flexibility to add more space for clinical services," Jones said.

Meanwhile, as the finishing touches were being put on the new post office, instructions were left inside the post office boxes of the affected customers last week, said Hass.

Those customers affected by the move can fill out a change-of-address form online with Sept. 27 as the effective date, Hass said.

If there should be a delay with the move, Hass said the box office holders' mail will continue to arrive to their current post office box until a new move date is specified.

Hass said those who fill out a change-of-address form will have their first-class mail forwarded to their new post office box for one year. Periodicals, he said, will be forwarded to the new post office box for 60 days.

WHAT BOX HOLDERS NEED TO KNOW

The Osborn post office will be closed to all customers on Sept. 27 due to the move.

A key to the new P.O. box will be issued in the current box about a week before the move.

The 85252 ZIP code will remain the same for the affected box holders.

A change-of-address form can be filled out at www.usps.com via the "forms" menu.

Mail not picked up at the Osborn post office boxes by Sept. 27 will be transferred to the designated new post office box and available for pickup on Sept. 29.

For more information about the move, call (480) 949-1448.