The United States Postal Service will present plans for a new Bethesda Retail Post Office next week, a year after closing two downtown Bethesda locations and after many criticized its first new location on Wisconsin Avenue.
The public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane). Officials will discuss plans for a new Bethesda Retail Post Office, which the Postal Service has been pursuing since closing post offices at 7400 Wisconsin Ave. and 7100 Arlington Rd. in May 2012 as part of the agency’s downsizing.
The Postal Service has said it was seeking a 2,000-square-foot location in the 20816 zip code, west of River Road and south of Goldsboro Road, that would not have PO boxes.
Last year, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) called on the USPS to relocate its new location at 6900 Wisconsin Ave. because of a lack of convenient parking.
Since, the old post office at 7100 Arlington Rd. has been demolished to make way for a new apartment project.
The post office building at 7400 Wisconsin Ave. was built as part of the New Deal in 1938 and is included in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation. The Donohoe Companies, a D.C.-based developer, bought the property for $4 million in March 2011 and then leased the space to USPS until it closed the Post Office last year.
