Post Office Boxes Back on the Beach

Turns out closing the Beach Post Office, in a way, opened up two more.

Already most Postal Service packing and sending options were available at an Island Estates facility. And with the Clearwater Beach Mailboxes store opening island residents now can have post office boxes too.

The store is set to open at 7 a.m. Monday at 61 Baymont St. It has 500 post office boxes in small, medium and large sizes, said owner Clint Wilson. It will offer other shipping services as well.

Wilson said the boxes were sitting around since he took over the building that at one time housed a Pac N' Send to open Island Dog Outfitters, a natural pet supply store five years ago.

“We’ve been holding off, getting our ducks in a row,” he said. “We’ve had these boxes sitting, waiting for years.”

The Clearwater Beach Post Office closed in January after talks of its possible demise for years. The Postal Service said years of reduced postage sales helped force closings at locations nationally. Its operations were moved to the Cleveland Street Station.

“We want to keep everything down here on the beach,” Wilson said. “It’s hard for people with limited time, whether it’s walking distance or what not.”

If you go:

Beach Mailboxes
61 Baymont St
Hours: from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

*updated 9:56 a.m. Feb. 18, 2012.