Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan announced this week that the U.S. Post Office on Green Street will relocate.
Dunagan gave the word Tuesday evening in welcoming remarks to the 2018 Citizen's Government Academy, according to a post on the city Facebook page.
Dunagan received notification from the postal service about the move earlier Tuesday and commented further on the plans at a Gainesville City Council work session Thursday morning. He said postal service officials want to locate their replacement facility within a 3.5 radius of the existing location.
"It'll be a retail site. The letter carriers have been moved to a Pentee Drive location, so it'll just be a retail site similar to the one on Limestone Parkway."
Brenau University President Ed Schrader had previously expressed the school's interest in the existing post office property and facility. Dunagan confirmed the school would move forward with that purchase process.
"Brenau is planning on closing off the front, doing some more landscaping and upgrading the building. It'll help traffic on Green Street tremendously."
Discussions about a post office move from the busy Green Street corridor have arisen numerous times over the years, but gained traction late last year as postal officials scheduled a January 23 public hearing.
"During the comment period the only letters received provided support for the potential relocation and/or recommendations for proposed new sites," Postal service Vice President, Facilities, Tom Samra wrote in the letter to Dunagan announcing the move.
Officials did not offer a timeline for the move, but Samra indicated operations would continue on Green Street until a replacement facility is up and running.
Dunagan credited Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, and members of his staff for helping move the process forward.
