THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509020214
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CARROLLTON LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Like any business with more customers to serve in a growing area, the Carrollton Post Office was beginning to recognize its limitations.
More than five years ago, almost all 281 post office boxes were rented and there was no room to install more. Just to do their jobs, the post office's three employees were weaving paths through the growing number of parcels and mail bags being carried into the tiny brick building just off Brewers Neck Road.
``The area has grown considerably, and our delivery has doubled over the last five years,'' Postmaster Don Farmer said recently. ``This office originally was built for one route - now it serves three and covers more than 1,400 customers.''
But now there's hope for the future of the mail service in Isle of Wight County's fastest-growing community.
The U.S. Postal Service has promised to deal with the Carrollton space crunch by building a 5,320-square-foot post office - four times bigger than the current building - designed to meet the community's needs for the next 40 years.
No construction date has been set yet, but postal officials have drawn plans and have been shopping for property.
Plans call for the new post office to be equipped with customer conveniences now found at most larger post offices: copiers, stamp machines and 24-hour lobby hours. It also would have a 42,000-square-foot parking lot.
``Most people who live in Carrollton work outside the community and often don't get home until after the post office closes for the night,'' Farmer said. ``This will be good for those customers so they can get their mail at their convenience.''
The Postal Service has taken an option on a 1.5-acre site off U.S. Route 17, near where that highway intersects with Brewers Neck Boulevard. The option has been assigned to U.S. Equities, a limited partnership in Nashville, said Marcus K. Nielsen, a spokesman for the Postal Service's facilities service office in Greensboro. The option calls for U.S. Equities to buy the property for $100,000, construct the building and lease it to the Postal Service for $67,250 per year, Nielsen said.
The Postal Service has identified two other potential sites, all within a mile of the site it has put under option, he said.
``Just in case our first choice doesn't work out,'' Farmer said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ALLISON T. WILLIAMS
Postmaster Don Farmer said delivery has doubled over the last five
years. The postal service plans to build a new post office.
by CNB