Geneva post office up for sale
The Geneva post office is up for sale, after 72 years in business.
But U.S. Postal Service officials say they really want to keep a post office - albeit one they rent, and much smaller - in downtown Geneva.
The sale was made public at a city council committee of the whole meeting Monday night.
Robert Hart, the manager for the USPS Northern Illinois District, said it just doesn't need all the space it has at the building at 26 S. Third St., especially since mail volume has decreased.
It has 5,700 square feet on the main floor, a small room on the second story, and a full basement. Since carrier operations were moved to a St. Charles facility years ago, all Geneva now needs is about 2,000 square feet to sell stamps, accept mail and operate rented postal boxes.
"Like a lot of residents of Geneva we are sorry to hear about this, but hopefully you will find something in the downtown area within a reasonable distance," said 1st Ward Alderman Sam Hill.
There's been a post office in downtown Geneva since 1840. The present building was built on the northwest corner of Campbell and Third streets, across the street from the Kane County Courthouse, in 1937.
It has a 14-by-9-foot mural in the lobby, painted by an artist as part of a federal arts program during the Great Depression. The mural depicts a fish fry on Island Park. The post office is a favorite stop on Geneva second-graders' annual walking tour of the historic district, said Geneva History Center educator Margaret Selakovich.
The post office will remove the mural, restore it, and loan it to anybody who can provide a space where the public can see it, said Marla Larsen-Williams, the district's in-house real estate agent.
The building is in the city's historic district, so any plan to raze the building or change its exterior would have to be reviewed by the city's Historic Preservation Commission. The exterior has changed over the years, with the addition of a ramp for wheelchair accessibility and a contemporary black metal-and-glass door. The commission can approve or deny changes, but its decision can be appealed to the city council.
For its new space, the post office insists on being on the first floor for accessibility, and would prefer a building with a loading dock, but is willing to share a dock with other tenants. Hart said that even if the post office can't find a space to lease in downtown Geneva, it would find a space elsewhere in town.
It could even end up back in its old building, if the new owner is willing to lease space, Larsen-Williams said.
Geneva is the only Tri-Cities town left with a post office in its downtown. St. Charles' post office, also built in 1937, was sold in 1985. A branch was opened in a strip mall on the east side of town, and a new office and sorting center was built at 17th and Main streets on the west side. In 2002, it opened a new post office building at Main and Oak streets, west of Randall Road.
Batavia's downtown office was closed in the mid-1990s when a new facility was built on Randall Road. It's been converted to an office building whose tenants include the Batavia Chamber of Commerce.
Marketing materials on the Geneva building will go out next week, Larsen-Williams said.