Just lookin' for a new garage.

I case you hadn’t heard, Eau Claire’s downtown post office needs a new home. A while back, the U.S. Postal Service decided to not renew the lease at its current location (126 N. Barstow St.), leaving it about a year to find a new space.

The current building is just huge. They stopped sorting mail there a long time ago, and the post office is more or less a “retail” outfit. It only needs 3,000–4,000 square feet, while the current building offers a whopping 27,000. So, at last night’s Eau Claire City Council meeting, a real estate man with the U.S. Postal Service told the council they’re looking for a new location within a mile of the current one. Landlords are now allowed to submit offers.

I’m glad they’re looking downtown, and I hope they find a good spot. The post office is one of the major anchors of downtown Eau Claire, bringing people down here who might otherwise never make the trip. And while a “strip mall” style location might not convey the Official Public Institution vibe you might like to see in your town’s post office, our current one is just ... ugly. Let’s assume an all-new space would look a lot prettier.

If all goes well, the new PO should be open within the year.