News

Church closes on post office purchase

By Bill Moss, Published: July 21, 2016

First Baptist Church closed on the purchase of the post office on Fifth Avenue West last week for $1,003,000, according to documents at the register of deeds office.

With the purchase, the church picked up a lease for the U.S. Postal Service until Oct. 1, 2017. A postal service real estate specialist is looking for a space for a smaller facility that will offer counter service and post office boxes and handle passport applications. The post office is downsizing from the 20,000-square-foot building at 427 Fifth Avenue West to about 5,000 square feet.
The real estate specialist, Richard Hancock, said he prefers an existing building and needs 40 to 45 parking spaces. First Baptist Church plans to bulldoze the post office and make a parking lot when the postal service moves out.