Youngwoo & Associates is among developers in talks to redevelop the landmarked Bronx General Post Office, which the U.S. Postal Service intends to sell despite an outcry from residents.
Youngwoo is proposing to use the site to build a marketplace, much in the vein of its ambitious plan for the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. The winning Armory proposal instead was for that of the world’s largest indoor ice center.
The Bronx post office, located at 558 Grand Concourse, is a 175,000-square-foot building. Officials at the Federal agency are seeking other offers from possible buyers.
“We cannot overlook the decline of letter mail volumes and the growth of online services, particularly for the postage for packages,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service told the New York Times. “Both factors reduce foot traffic at post offices like the Bronx and others all around the country.”
In September Bronx residents and postal workers protested the agency’s decision to reject their appeal to block the proposed sale, as previously reported. [NYT] — Mark Maurer