The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) often seems like it's operating all day, every day. While post offices across the nation may hold varying hours, the agency only closes all of its facilities for federal holidays. But now, the Postal Service is planning to shut down some of its post offices in certain areas for non-holiday-related reasons. Read on to discover where the USPS is suspending services soon.
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The USPS is suspending services at a post office in Michigan.
iStockThe Postal Service alerts customers about operational disruptions through local press releases and its Service Alerts website. In a local press release posted on Sept. 8, the agency updated those in Michigan about an upcoming closure. According to the release, the USPS is temporarily closing a facility in Benton Harbor, Michigan, tomorrow.
Starting Sept. 13, the Orchards Mall Post Office at 1800 Pipestone Road in Benton Harbor will be "temporarily suspended," the agency said.
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The agency said there are safety concerns at this facility.
ShutterstockThe USPS didn't go into much detail in its press release about why the Orchards Mall Post Office is being closed temporarily. The agency simply said that the suspension is taking place "due to safety conditions." When Best Life reached out to the USPS to find out more about the closure, spokesperson Elizabeth Najduch said there is currently no further information available.
But this isn't the first time the Postal Service has had to close the Orchards Mall facility. In January of this year, the post office had to be closed after a water pipe burst open in the mall. As The Herald-Palladium reported at the time, the break ended up flooding several parts of the building.
The Orchards Mall Post Office eventually reopened after the incident, but other reports indicate that the area has been declining for a while. The Orchards Mall only has two tenants left—the post office and one other open business, WSJM reported in May. Its parking lots are also "empty and crumbling," and the building is now surrounded by thousands of nesting gulls, according to the news outlet.
Another post office is also closing soon in a different state.
iStockIt's not just postal customers in Michigan who are going to be affected by upcoming closures, however. Another facility in Maryland is shutting its doors this week as well. The Fort Howard Post Office in Fort Howard, Maryland, is closing on Sept. 15, CBS News Baltimore recently reported.
The USPS did previously confirm this closure in an Aug. 18 local press release. The soon-to-be-shuttered post office is located in Baltimore County at 9200 Howard Avenue, according to the agency's release.
The Maryland facility is facing leasing issues.
iStockIn its original local press release, the USPS said that it was closing the Ford Howard Post Office on Sept. 15 "due to a termination of its current lease." Kathleen Labuda told CBS News Baltimore that the Postal Service had started leasing her family's building in Fort Howard for the facility back in 1978. However, according to Labuda, the agency has decided to let the agreement expire with the end of this lease.
"It is not being renewed because the post office real estate department refuses to negotiate," she told the news outlet. "I am disappointed because it affects this entire community of 189 homes and these people do not deserve this."
USPS spokesperson Mark Wahl told Best Life that the agency was notified that its lease at the Fort Howard Post Office is expiring on Sept. 30 and indicated that decisions are being worked on behind the scenes. "We are currently exploring options to continue mail service there for our valued customers and have no further information at this time," Wahl said. "The Postal Service will notify customers of our plans as soon as it becomes available.”
Customers in both states are being directed to alternative post offices.
iStockAs the USPS works "to ensure the safety of both postal customers and employees," the agency is directing those affected by the upcoming Michigan closure to another facility in the city. The Postal Service said that customers who normally get their P.O. Box mail at the Orchards Mall Post Office can start retrieving it during regular retail hours at the Benton Harbor Post Office instead. The two facilities are located 3.8 miles apart, according to the agency.
"The Postal Service apologizes for any inconvenience the closure may cause our customers," the USPS stated in its release.
Meanwhile, Maryland customers will soon need to go to the Dundalk Post Office. The agency said, "Retail operations and P.O. Box service at the Fort Howard Post Office will be moved to the Dundalk Post Office" starting Sept. 18. The two facilities are more than eight miles away, according to CBS News Baltimore.
