Naperville post office lot sold

Naperville's downtown post office parking lot has been sold and negotiations are ongoing for the building itself.

The U.S. Postal Service recently vacated the lot at the northwest corner of Benton Avenue and Washington Street and is working with the city to relocate three drive-up mailboxes.

Spokesman Jose Aguilar on Wednesday confirmed the sale of the 8,700-square-foot parking lot but did not have detailed information about the sale price or new owner. However, he said an adjacent property owner purchased the land.

The Postal Service announced late last summer it was considering putting the post office at 5 S. Washington St. up for sale. At that time, Aguilar said walk-in revenue at post offices around the country was down almost 30 percent due to customers accessing services in other ways, such as via the Internet.

The Postal Service is negotiating with several interested buyers for the downtown building, according to Aguilar. It has yet to put up a For Sale sign but plans to do so in the near future.

The 32,000-square-foot building opened in 1940 and is one of three post offices in Naperville, including one on Ogden Avenue and another on Book Road.

The Postal Service hopes to continue to offer services somewhere in the downtown area even if the office is sold.

"I believe as we get closer to a sale we will request a town hall meeting to notify the community of where services will be moving to," Aguilar said.

In the meantime, Naperville Postmaster Dennis Lyons recommends patrons of the downtown office use street parking or the Van Buren parking garage behind the building.