Downtown Pinehurst Post Office to Close Aug. 19
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The U.S. Postal Service will close the downtown post office in Pinehurst on Aug. 19.
A spokesperson for the postal service confirmed the closing date and said services will be consolidated with those at the post office on Blake Boulevard.
“We are in a dire financial situation,” said Enola Rice, spokesperson for the postal service, “and are making changes so we can make sure we will be here in the future.”
Rice said the post office boxes at the downtown branch will be relocated to Blake Boulevard facility. Residents who don’t want to have their boxes relocated have the option to have mail delivered to a home or business address, she said.
Rice did not say what plans, if any, the postal service had for the downtown building.
The Blake Boulevard post office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
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Comments
HillTopper 1 year, 10 months ago
Just one of thousands nationwide the postal service has been forced to keep open. I get tired of hearing the postal service getting beaten up over things beyond their control. Village post office should have been closed years ago as well as Lakeview, Pinebluff, Eagle Springs and several others and that's just the Moore County post offices. Tremendous waste of money keeping all the little post offices open that can be consolidated. What is it, 2 miles from the Pinebluff post office to Aberdeen post office?
Arestorer 1 year, 10 months ago
They should have kept the buildings that are going to last another couple hundred years and not build beyond their needs.The organization is run by Beaurocrats,why do we still expect more from them??
pinehurstmom 1 year, 10 months ago
That office has such ridiculous hours-it should have been closed long ago.
coffecreme 1 year, 10 months ago
It is going to kill the village economy
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
How so?
Arestorer 1 year, 10 months ago
Like a postal depot???
They should have never built the new building....
CNMT 1 year, 10 months ago
I have another suggestion for the Postal Service. Deliver mail to half of the routes on Mon, Wed, and Fri. and the other half on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. Would be able to do it with half the staff, half the mileage/fuel, etc. I realize that would mean more people looking for jobs, but that will happen anyway when we close post offices. And I think most of us can live with getting our mail 3 days a week instead of 5. Also, quit giving the bulk junk mail such a discount. Make them pay the same amount I do to mail a letter. That would decrease the amount of junk mail in my mailbox because most of these people will not pay full price - and that works for me!!!!
HillTopper 1 year, 10 months ago
CNMT ... Not real bright. Without the "junk mail" you just slammed your $.44 stamp just went to about $2.00 ... probably much more. The post office makes their money on "junk mail". They lose their butts on first class mail. You drop a first class letter in the mail to California and it cost you just $.44 ??? Please, that's not even a rational amount to charge. You can't do it ... period. Do your research before you post again. You don't have a clue. Then every other day mail delivery? You just cut out half of the postal carrier and a ton of jobs. That isn't what the problem is. If you don't think UPS or Fed Ex would jump all over mail delivery if the rate reflected what the price really should be you're nuts!
sgmartin 1 year, 10 months ago
We don't need 2 post offices but what bothers me more is what a ghost town the Village has become. Someone needs to look at what Southern Pines is doing right. I can't count the number of times in the past 6 months I have gone into the village to fine a business closed. The Theater building is virtually empty except for 3 businesses and twice I have gone to the restaurant there to find out that they weren't serving food - at 4pm or only had hot dogs! I miss the Magnolia Inn. That was a loss.
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
You might want to start by asking how much overhead the businesses are having to pay to lease those spaces. In the long wrong, it makes it difficult for most small businesses to stay profitable.
moonchild7 1 year, 10 months ago
The Pinehurst Police Dept is why people don't go near the Village of Pinehurst anymore. There's also little to even go there for. What Southen Pines has done is to provide ENTERTAINMENT and RESTAURANTS. I said this years ago, in order for towns who have little to nothing going on, it is entertainment that will help bring people back. People are working very hard in this country and after work and on the weekends they want to have some sort of decent FUN. The Post Office should have been long several years ago.
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
The Pinehurst Police don't dictate where people go shopping. That statement is ridiculous. If you spend a few weekend nights in Southern Pines at the local watering holes, you will see that there is just as strong a police presence there on Friday and Saturday nights. I can't tell you how many times the police parked across the street from O'Donnell's and hung out on Saturdays while I was there with my friends. Business in Pinehurst is slow because the economy is bad and people are not going on trips and vacations anymore. Once business slows down, the enormous overhead that the patrons in the downtown are paying becomes too much for them to sustain. That is just basic economics.
xemrac 1 year, 10 months ago
You love to beat that drum.....moonchild, let it go.
ProudYankee 1 year, 10 months ago
The Village is a ghost town because the shops that are there seem to cater to the deep pocketed tourists staying at the Carolina Hotel and the Holly Inn. I mean, come on now, a mens clothing store carrying $100+ polo shirts, ladies shops which my wife won't even look in, because of the extreme prices, and the attitudes of the sales people. I realize that there are people in Pinehurst for whom money is no object, but there are obviously not enough of them to support a vibrant Village center.
JER 1 year, 10 months ago
Correct da mundo!! The "trickle down" dried up.
ncsnafu1 1 year, 10 months ago
The PH Village Council should make an offer to buy the old PO building vs. spending the money on a Village Green plan that the NPS will never approve. The building, if purchased, would provide the space for the long needed handicapped RR to serve Old Town in addition to providing space to display a portion of the Tufts Archives.
temperanceprudence 1 year, 10 months ago
@ncsnafu1 - you make an interesting point - however, instead of just using it as an extension of the Archive, what about using it as the "George Lane Welcome Center" instead of continuing to try and use the Women's Exch.....seems like the old PO is much better situated in the heart of the Village, parking is better and more ADA compliant....as you noted, it could provide the public restrooms, plus it appears to have a much better physical plant and structure to serve as a welcome center than does the WEx, small exhibits from the Archives could be displayed, etc....and that could better help businesses - park one time, get oriented at the Old PO/Welcome Center, then walk to whatever you wanted to see, where you wanted to shop. It could also serve as a base for a formalized Walking tour to help visitors see many of the beautiful "period" homes in the Village - much like in New Bern, etc....and I agree with other posters above - the mix of shops is not overly enticing and some of the comments posted by some of the owners in prior stories make them seem very unfriendly towards many potential local purchasers - griping about the street festivals, etc. that the Village and others have sponsored in an effort to draw more people to the Village core....
coffecreme 1 year, 10 months ago
its been in business for over 35 years
Arestorer 1 year, 10 months ago
Deal is,,,, The Village was never planned, built, or cater to locals......Was for rich visitors...
teufelhunden 1 year, 10 months ago
I think they need to bring in something for the kids in Pinehurst. They will have to just bite the bullet. Local families will spend money down there and then visitors will see that there are things for children to do and bring them too. Over there where Hot Yoga is located would be a great location for an "upscale" game room of sorts-nothing cheesy-just some place kids could go together. I saw the idea for an art studio where an area artist holds a class and customers pay for the materials to complete a painting-then they take their painting home-add a little wine and cheese and voila!something fun for a date or girls night or (skip the wine) a group of older kids. The 9th of September with a twist-but in Pinehurst. We need some trendy fun places. How about a dance hall where big band music is played with cigars and martinis twirling aroungd the room?...just some goofy ideas...
HillTopper 1 year, 10 months ago
The economy will get better. The tourist will come back. Then just as fast as you can say "$300 Greens Fee" they'll kick what ever local customers that teufelhunden's ideas ( no slam at you bro) have generated ... straight back to Aberdeen. LOL. Arestorer is exactly right! It's a tourist destination.
PBinNC 1 year, 10 months ago
You are so right in every aspect. The Postal Service is a business and can't survive on providing a gathering place for locals. How many people who complain even mail letters or use the other services instead of the internet? The post office off Route 5 is gorgeous with easy parking, rarely long lines. Southern Pines Post Office is old, lines go forever, parking is difficult. Though I live in Southern Pines I often drive to the beautiful post office off Route 5 in Pinehurst.
Cosmo4slice 1 year, 10 months ago
Make it into a Head Shop :-)
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
I would love to know what they are planning on doing with the Fire Department building that has stood empty downtown for a whole lot longer than the post office.
phstresident 1 year, 10 months ago
@fightfirewithfire - The council is talking about just giving it away to the performing arts group that wants to use it as on office in hopes of building a future performing arts center.
ncsnafu1 1 year, 10 months ago
@FightFireWithFire: phstresident is correct wrt the council, in all likelihood, giving the old fire station to the performing arts group. I just wanted to add that the village council could have sold the building to a developer a few years ago for $450K but turned down the price as they thought they could get more money for the building when "New Core" is developed.
FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago
That's just sad. I was told years ago they were planning on making another museum. I wanted to buy the place and put a little diner in and have some movies on the wide screen with free popcorn once a week, something for the kids. On Fridays I was going to have some line dancing for everyone, Saturdays would be 21 and up. We need a place around here that will cater to more than one group of people.