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Most of us know exactly where our nearest post office is located - and when it comes to taking packages or putting the mail during the busy work week, we are counting on the fact that this is where it has always been. But for some customers, it is about to change. American postal service (USPS) Closing post offices For a number of reasons, and although most of these closures are only temporary, this is not always the case. The agency is now moving permanently some post offices. Read the rest to know why these relocations take place.

In relation: USPS makes these changes to your mail .

The postal service has finished 33,600 post offices In the United States, but these locations are not placed in stone. In fact, the USPS "can move one place to another , generally in the same postal code zone, for reasons such as rental problems or optimization of space ", according to the office of the Inspector General of the Agency (USPSOIG).

The agency has already announced this month that it proposed to move three different post offices. In a July 5 Local press release , the USPS revealed plans to move the Olpe post office in Olpe, Kansas, in a new location.

Then on July 19, the agency confirmed in separate local press releases which it also proposed the relocation of the Pineville post office in Pineville, North Carolina and Benning station post office in Washington, D.C.

In relation: USPS suspends services in these places, with immediate effect .

Postal customers in Olpe, Kansas, have been without local post office for over a year now. USPS temporarily closed The Olpe post office in May 2022 after failing to obtain a new rental agreement for its location at 118 Westphalia Street, Kvoe reported. Since May 14 of last year, Olpe residents had to go to the Emporia post office to access mail services.

It could change soon. In his new press release, the USPS said he had now proposed a relocation to the Olpe post office "due to the expiration of the building lease". The agency plans to move it to an "alternative building of around 900 square feet in the postal code 66865", according to the ad.

"The new installation proposed will keep the same level of retail service as the location closed," added the agency in its communication. "The postal service apologizes for any drawback and appreciates your patience while we assess possible concerns."

Better life Contacted the USPS to obtain more information on the moment when the relocation of the Olpe Post Office should occur, and we will update this story with their response.

In relation: See a sticker on your mailbox? Don't touch it, said Usps .

The USPS also plans to move the Pineville post office in North Carolina and the Benning Station post office in D.C. due to rental problems. The current owners of the two installations have chosen not to renew the leases for one or the other location, according to the agency. Unlike the Olpe post office, Pineville and Benning Station have not been closed and will continue to serve customers at the moment. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

"The postal service plans to provide services to the installation of the Benning station until the replacement installation is opened and operates as a post office," the agency said in its D.C.

For Pineville, the USPS also confirmed that it "planned to provide services in the current installation until the new location is operational".

The postal service said that the Pineville post office, which is currently located at 206 College Street, will be moved to a location "still to be determined as possible at the current site within the limits of the city of Pineville which are suitable for our operational needs".

But the USPS has already been installed on a new location for the Bennington Station post office - making it its current location at 3924, avenue Minnesota at 3937 1/2 minnesota Ave.

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Many post offices are not really held in the postal service. In fact, the agency maintains 25,000 rented properties , according to the USPSOIG. These installations operate as normal post offices, but they belong to an outside owner. Every five years approximately, the leases expire and the USPS must work with the lessor to renew them.

In some cases, the postal service or the owner will choose not to conclude a new agreement, by effectively cutting the Espace Agency. And as in the situation of the Olpe post office, it can leave customers without local post office for an indefinite period of time.

For example, residents of Bolinas, California, have not had an installation in town since March, after the Bolinas post office was unable to obtain a new rental contract for its previous building, according to a online petition .

Steve Hutkins , a retired English teacher and founder of the Save the Post Office website, clearly said that this is not an unusual scenario. In a May 2023 post , Hutkins said that the most common reason for post offices suspensions is linked to the lease - that the postal service or the owner has decided to terminate it or not renew it.

"In any case, when a rental problem causes suspension, it is rare for the post office to reopen," warned Hutkins. "Of the 375 known suspensions for being caused by a rental problem, only 31 reopened."