City Awards Contract to Build ‘Postal Store’

The city moved ahead this week with plans for a “postal store,” awarding a $1.15-million building contract to Martin J. Jaska Inc. of Rancho Cucamonga.

The store will offer all the services of a typical post office as well as a display of stamps and other available products. The facility, the third in Orange County, will be like those already operating in Irvine and Rancho Santa Margarita.

“We look at this as a win-win situation for both the Postal Service and the community,” said Terri Bouffiou, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.

The outlet, she said, will be “not a lot different from a grocery store where you see all the brands of cereal that are on the shelves. You can make the purchase decision before you get to the cashier.”

Another advantage, Bouffiou said, is that customers don’t have to wait in line only to find that certain items are unavailable.

The postal store will also have vending machines, mailing supplies, post office boxes and photocopiers. Work on the 5,600-square-foot facility is expected to be finished by the fall.

Under an agreement approved in November, the city Redevelopment Agency is giving the federal government a site at Broadway and Clementine Street. Anaheim is also paying to build the postal store.

In exchange, the city will acquire the 33,000-square-foot site of the current post office at 311 W. Broadway, two blocks east of the new facility. The old post office will eventually be demolished.