A Phil Hall Op-Ed: Buried in the middle of today’s belated effort to show that President Biden is aware of challenges in the housing market was this strange paragraph in a White House press statement:
“The United States Postal Service (USPS) will pilot the repurposing of certain surplus properties for housing. USPS owns more than 8,500 facilities nationwide, including some that are not needed for postal operations in areas that face a shortage of affordable housing.”
Okay, it is not unusual to learn about efforts to transform office properties, industrial real estate, hotels and shopping malls into residential housing. But score one for the Biden administration for coming up with a truly remarkable idea: turning post offices into housing.
Details on the “certain surplus properties” that will be the subject of “repurposing” were not included in the White House announcement, nor was there any timeline on when this initiative will begin. I would like to assume that “repurposing” means that old post offices will be demolished and their parcels will be the sites of new housing construction – there is nothing wrong with that approach.
But if “repurposing” means what I think it means – taking existing structures and refurbishing them into a new usage – then this could be a classic example of making a bad situation worse. After all, the average post office or postal sorting facility was not designed for residential intentions – and considering many of these structures were built many decades ago, it is not difficult to imagine the challenges and expenses that would be connected in turning these old postal buildings into contemporary housing. Plus, refurbishing commercial properties into residential developments is traditionally more expensive than building new housing from scratch.
There are two obvious problems with this initiative. The first problem: Why did the USPS wait until now to realize that it had “certain surplus properties” that is could have jettisoned? After all, the agency has been hemorrhaging money for too long – shouldn’t this have been addressed years ago when the agency’s financial health took a sharp turn for the worse?
The second problem: Why did the Biden administration wait until now, more than three-and-a-half years since taking office, to acknowledge the evaporation of affordable housing? It is hard not to notice that the president didn’t start to talk about housing before polling showed he was falling behind his opponent in this year’s election. Even worse for the president, this new push is going to be lost in the news cycle – in view of the attention given to the Republican National Convention plus Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and today’s conviction of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez on corruption charges, very few people outside of the real estate sector are going to be paying attention to a Biden proposal on housing.
To be fair, the problems around affordable housing were metastasizing before Biden took office. But it developed into a full-blown mess since he arrived at the White House and today’s response is a classic case of too-little, too-late.
And as for living in a former post office – if this hare-brained scheme ever comes to fruition, I hope the tenants of those unlikely residences get a free book of stamps with their apartments. Considering the constant increases in postage prices, that would be a welcome amenity.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
Photo: National Postal Museum
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Could be a “return to sender” situation.
Is this a news item or a political commentary??? Remember what Joe Friday from Dragnet would say…”just the facts ma’am”. It would be very refreshing to get just the facts without the political slant!!!
It is an op-ed commentary, clearly identified as such.
(from Google) Yes, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has faced financial challenges for several years. Here are some key points:
1. Revenue and Expenses: The USPS generates revenue primarily through postage sales and services. However, its expenses include labor costs, transportation, and maintaining a vast network of post offices and delivery routes.
2. Declining Mail Volume: Traditional mail volume (letters, bills, etc.) has declined significantly due to digital communication. People now rely more on email, online bill payments, and other electronic methods.
3. Financial Losses: The USPS consistently reports financial losses. These losses stem from the gap between revenue and expenses. Despite efforts to streamline operations, the decline in mail volume continues to impact its financial health.
4. Mandated Obligations: The USPS faces unique challenges, such as the requirement to pre-fund retiree health benefits. This obligation has contributed to its financial strain.
5. Proposed Solutions: Various proposals have been discussed to address USPS’s financial situation. These include adjusting pricing, exploring new services, and finding ways to repurpose post offices (such as converting them into community centers or housing).
Remember that this is a complex issue, and there are ongoing discussions about how to sustainably support the USPS while adapting to changing communication trends.
The Old Chicago Main Post Office was built in 1922. This from Wikipedia:
After extensive renovations undergone by real-estate company 601W, the building opened to office tenants in October 2019.[32] In August 2019, Uber signed a 10-year lease to become the building’s largest tenant, occupying 463,000 square feet (43,000 m2). Construction on the space to be utilized by Uber will begin in the spring of 2020.[33] The structure will also include new Chicago offices for Walgreens, occupying 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) and housing 1,800 employees.[34] PepsiCo will relocate its Chicago office of 1,300 employees and occupy 192,000 square feet (17,800 m2),[35] while the Ferrara Candy Company announced that it would relocate its headquarters to the Post Office building in 2019, occupying 77,000 square feet (7,200 m2) and bringing nearly 400 jobs.[36] The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago will also be a tenant.[37]
The Chicago Sun-Times, in 2022, had plans to open a facility there for newspaper and WBEZ operations. A total of 6,000 square feet (560 m2) of space under lease was to be used.
Post Office Repurposing since at least 2018 (during Trump’s term).
Let’s not forget Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General is a Trump appointee. See…
https://www.vts.com/blog/former-post-offices-converted-into-office-buildings-hotels-apartments.
Local tax incentives can help with the repurposing for housing.