The Fondren Post Office could be no more when 2022 arrives.
Plans are to tear down the building to make way for a new development that will feature a mix of residential and retail space plus underground parking.
The current lease for the Fondren Post Office is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2021, said David Walton, who handles corporate communications for the Mississippi and Suncoast Districts of the United States Postal Service.
“We were made aware that the building has a new owner,” he said by email. “At this time, there has been no dialogue between our facilities office and the new owner as far as any changes to the lease or building.”
Ridgeland-based Wealth Hospitality Group revealed a plan in July for Fondren Landing, which was announced as a $40 million to $42 million condominium/apartment and retail project that would be constructed on the property where Green Ghost Tacos, Fondren Guitars and the Fondren Post Office are located.
The buildings that house the post office, Fondren Guitars and Green Ghost Tacos will be demolished in order to make room for new construction, said Chico Patel, co-founder of Wealth Hospitality Group. “All of that will be bulldozed,” he said.
Wealth Hospitality closed on transactions to purchase the property earlier this year, Patel said.
The post office will “relocate to another area, from what I’m hearing,” Patel said, and he hopes Fondren Guitars and Green Ghost Tacos will become tenants of the new development. “We haven’t started that process,” he said.
Walton said there’s a lease in place for the Fondren Post Office and no plans to modify existing operations.
Are there plans to relocate the Fondren Post Office? That decision remains to be determined, so it seems.
When asked about the protocol for relocating a post office, Walton said by email that the U.S. Postal Service would “follow an established process which includes notification to local officials and the community, as well as public meetings. We gather and consider input from the public, prior to making any decisions.”
Patel doubts the post office would relocate to the development. “It’s too big of a footprint,” he said.
Construction on the development is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022 and the development is expected to open in 2023, he said.
There was a day and time when a U.S. PO was considered a vital part of any community. With the rise of other options such as FedEx and UPS, here’s a question to ask: Would anyone miss the Fondren Post Office?
The Fondren Post Office is what’s known as a finance station that accepts letter and parcels, sells stamps and rents post office boxes, but has no letter carriers based at it. Mail delivery for the area originates from the North Jackson Post Office at 404 Northview Drive.
Drew Mellon, COO at Swell-O-Phonic skate shop in Jackson, values the Fondren Post Office because its location makes it convenient for the store to ship packages.
The Fondren Post Office is just across the street from the Fondren Corner Building where Swell-O-Phonic sits. The store ships T-shirts and shoes purchased over its website all across the country and across the world and the first stop is at the Fondren Post Office, he said
“Sometimes it’s one or two things and sometimes it’s cartloads,” he said.
A Swell-O-Phonic employee will walk across the street to drop off a single order if received by 3 o’clock on a weekday and will do so within the hour the order is placed, he said.
“Our ship time is really good,” he said, noting that it’s doubtful someone from the store would head to the post office to drop off a single package if it required a trip by car.
Mellon especially appreciates the employees, some of whom he knows by name, at the Fondren Post Office. The U.S. Postal Service has occupied the building since January 1982
“We know the people who work there,” he said. “They’ve been there a long time.”
Employees at the Treehouse Boutique at 3000 N. State St. also use the Fondren Post Office to ship orders across the South that are received online and from phone calls that arise after someone sees something featured on Instagram.
“We probably go there every day,” said Carolina Berryhill, sales associate, at the Treehouse Boutique. “It’s convenient.”
There are other options for postal services that are within a short drive of Fondren, including the North Jackson Post Office at 404 Northview Drive, LeFleur Post Office at1501 Jacksonian Plaza and the Downtown Post Office at 401 E. South St.
Mellon said the U.S. Postal Service offers package pick up and that is something to explore.
“That’s a potential option we can look into,” he said. “I don’t think that would be as attractive to us as running a package across the street to the Fondren Post Office.”
Eleanor Anthony, a clerk at the Everyday Gardener, said it’s handy to have a post office just a few steps from the store, but there’s more.
“It’s nice knowing they’re there,” she said. “I like having it as part of Fondren.”
John Sewell, a resident of Fondren, occasionally uses the Fondren Post Office, but enjoys recalling the restaurant the building once housed.
“For me it’s not just the post office but it’s remembering that’s where Shakey’s Pizza Parlor was,” he said. “It’s just another part of that area that’s been around since I was a kid that is going away, but as a 23-year resident of Fondren I’m excited by investment in the neighborhood. Seeing new development and new business coming is good.”
Patel said Wealth Hospitality Group is the early stages of preliminary design for the project and the cost could go up or go down, depending upon the design.
The idea is to maximize every square inch of property on the site, which is “a shade under an acre,” he said, and to bring a modern development to Fondren that will complement the surroundings.
A feasibility company is working with the project architect to determine exactly what the mix of housing should be.
“Right now, we’re debating whether to do apartments studio style or a mixture of apartments and condos,” he said. “The Meridian (at Fondren) and The District (Lofts) are at 100 percent occupancy and have a wait list.”
Potential tenants have already expressed interest in knowing more about what kind of housing will be available in the development, he said, noting that the development’s location near the medical centers and in the heart of Fondren’s restaurant and retail scene are selling points.
He hopes three restaurants will be among tenants that fill the development’s 10,000 square feet of retail space. Underground parking with an elevated parking deck is planned as part of the development.
Obtaining financing for the project isn’t a concern, Patel said. “We do projects of this scale all the time,” he said.
Patel said he doesn’t plan to do anything to hurt the neighborhood and he’s used to people having questions about projects.
When Patel’s company announced construction of Homewood Suites by Hilton at 2815 N. State St., it drew negative comments, he said.
“Everybody opposed it,” he said. “Now, everybody thanks me when they see me on the street. The hotel brings foot traffic to their businesses and people to spend money.”
