Milwaukee Post Office To Move Next Door To Airport
In one of the worst kept secrets surrounding the future of downtown Milwaukee, an announcement finally arrived today that the out-of-place and severely dated United States Post Office located on St. Paul Ave, next to the brand spanking new, gorgeous Milwaukee Intermodal Station, is moving south to be closer to the airport in a new, more efficient facility.
This is a huge win-win for both areas. First, this should increase commerce surrounding the airport by adding a labor-intensive business near a large retail stretch. Second, it’s obviously going to be a boost for efficiency for moving mail in-and-out of Milwaukee. With a significant amount of mail moving through the air, this should get it sorted and on-and-off planes faster and reduce costs for USPS.
The land that Milwaukee’s Central Processing Facility for USPS currently occupies is not only in a great location because of the proximity to the train station, but it sits on the Menomonee River immediately adjacent to where it merges with the Milwaukee River. Any development on the site will certainly seek to reconnect the neighborhood with the river and further foster urban Milwaukee’s image as an area that is increasingly connected with its natural capital.
If you want to consider the kind of visual impact replacing the Post Office will have, consider the Harley Museum set to open soon just across the river. Not only has that development triggered another development in the Iron Horse Hotel, but it’s taken a long underused property and made it a legitimate piece of the city again. Replacing the Post Office will not only trigger development north across St. Paul Ave, but will increase the value of the Harley Museum and all of the land along that stretch of the rivers.
For those wondering about the quality of service provider to walk up customers, there is still a post office located on the north side of downtown at the intersection of Juneau and Jackson.
It’s also I think a safe assumption that USPS would seek to maintain some retail presence near Wisconsin Avenue, perhaps further boosting the strength of that area.
This is good for downtown development, but it’s horrible that they’re moving hundreds of jobs to what will likely be more wasteland style development in Oak Creek (or what used to be Oak Creek, but is now shlock-land).
I really wish they’d use land that’s truly at the airport and not on greenfields.
Ah well…
Wow I go out of town for a couple of days and they finally get the Post Office deal completed. It’s is slightly unfortunate because of the jobs moving but now you can create something great along the river.
@Fonzie yes, the development I think is going to be sadly much akin to what you see around Midway. Not that crime will be an issue in that neighborhood tomorrow, but in 15 years, I wouldn’t be shocked. They have time long-term to fix that potential problem though.
Yeah, I’m not sure why they couldn’t put it across the street.
@daver Well certainly it’s always bad to lose jobs in an area, I think the net benefit if and when housing is put there would outweigh that. The people that live on that site in the future will certainly be people that commute to work in the downtown area. That would be a much greater asset to the neighborhood than a building that brings 300 people into the neighborhood, and has them all flee at 5 p.m. in their cars.
I could be totally wrong, but I would imagine most of the employees don’t live in or even near downtown.
has there been ANY news on this? i know the economy tanked and all but its been over 2 years now and still no word? i cant find anything…
@max power Last I heard there is a holdup with the Oak Creek side of the move and/or with the Feds, but it will happen.