$3M Bid For Morristown Post Office Building In The Works

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The town intends to make a $3 million bid to purchase the century-old U.S. Post Office, a deteriorating 19,000-square-foot facility by The Green that is on the state and national historic registers.

According to an ordinance set to be introduced at tonight's council meeting, the town intends to move certain municipal operations there and issue bonds to fund the purchase.

The USPS intends to lease a portion of the first floor, according to the ordinance.

According to a marker placed there by the Morris County Historical Society, the Post Office is on the state and national historic registers.

"The building has served as a U.S. Post Office since its construction in 1916 and is integral to Morristown's historical ad cultural identity. The Classical Revival building was designed by Oscar Wenderoth. The building is contributing to a National and New Jersey Register Historic District," the Morris County Historical Society said.

In February, Town Administrator Jillian Barrick last updated the community on the process, saying, "as you all are familiar, we have been in pursuit to acquire and preserve the Morristown Post Office for quite some time now."

Barrick went on to say that the town had received two separate historic preservation grants from the county to assist with the acquisition and that Morristown had been in negotiations with the US Postal Service for the last few years.

In 2017, the town put in an initial bid of $1.5 million for the structure but was ultimately rejected, according to council records.

"We are in the home stretch of entering into a contract for sale with the post office," Barrick said.

The 17,000-square-foot facility, built in 1916, lacks central air conditioning, and Mayor Tim Dougherty previously estimated that the building requires around $2 million in renovations.

According to Barrick, the council was interested in reassessing the condition of the Post Office and evaluating potential uses for it. "What we want to do is have a lengthy due diligence process, that allows us free access to the building to evaluate the condition of the building, to understand exactly what the condition of the systems are… As well as what would make the building feasible for its potential future use, which our primary choice is to move municipal offices into the space."

The Morristown Council will discuss this topic further at the council meeting scheduled for Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m., to read the full agenda, click here.