Two Bethesda post offices, including the historic office downtown, may close and relocate to a central office, a move post office patrons said they would not favor.
U.S. Postal Service officials will hold a public meeting July 27 to solicit input about a proposed consolidation and relocation of the historic post office, 7400 Wisconsin Ave., and the post office at 7001 Arlington Road. Officials have not identified a location for the potential new post office, said Dennis Perry, a real estate specialist for the postal service’s eastern facilities service office.
“When I think about this, I think about Walter Reed,” said Joseph Pontes, of Silver Spring, referencing the historic military hospital that in September will relocate to National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.
“What happened to history?” he added. Pontes, who works as a tailor in Bethesda and has been coming to the historic post office on Wisconsin Avenue for almost 15 years, is among the post office patrons who cited the building’s convenient location near the Metro station and downtown businesses as a major draw.
“I’m definitely not in favor of that,” Debbie Bowles said of the potential move. Bowles lives in Washington, D.C., but works in Bethesda and said the historic Bethesda post office is her main letter drop.
The move would be part of a nationwide effort within the postal service to optimize services and facilities by closing offices, as the federal agency continues to report declines in revenue, most recently a $2.2 billion net revenue drop in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, January through March.
“To drive the highest and best use, to optimize our operations,” Perry said when asked why the two Bethesda sites were selected for potential consolidation. “Neither of those buildings are used to their capacity right now,” he added.
Property records show the federal government sold the Historic Post Office in March for just more than $4 million. The owner of the property is listed as 7400 Wisconsin LLC, with a mailing address for the Donohoe Companies, in Washington, D.C.
Bethesda Urban Partnership Executive Director David Dabney said a Donohoe representative told him in a statement that Donohoe Companies owns the building and is leasing the building to the Postal Service.
Donohoe Companies did not immediately return a call for comment.
The postal service would also seek to sell the Arlington Road facility, Perry said.
The Wisconsin Avenue post office will be difficult to redevelop because it is considered a historic site and is next to a historic monument, the Madonna of the Trail, said Ken Hartman, director of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
“There are a lot of hurdles someone would have to overcome to do this,” said Hartman, who described the historic facility an icon.
Built in 1938, the Bethesda Post Office is included in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. According to the Historical Resources Plan for the Bethesda Central Business District, expansion of the post office is only feasible to the back and any new development should preserve the building’s interior murals.
The Madonna of the Trail sculpture, a semblance of a pioneer woman built by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1929, is also included in the Master Plan for Historic Preservation and falls under the Bethesda Metro Center site plan enforcement agreement, which means Metro Center owns the property where the statue is located and has an agreement for the DAR to maintain the statue.
sgantz@gazette.net
Learn more
U.S. Postal Service will hold a public meeting for a presentation and question-answer period regarding the proposed consolidation and relocation of the Bethesda main and Arlington Road post offices 7 p.m. July 27, at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda.
Residents unable to attend can contact Dennis Perry with questions or comments at 336-665-2863 or dperry2@usps.gov.
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