Lease For New Hawleyville Post Office Finalized

By Nancy K. Crevier

Tower Realty broker Mick Consalvo confirmed Wednesday, August 26, that a long-term lease for an approximately 2,000-square-foot space at 23 Barnabas Road in Hawleyville had been signed by Hawleyville Development, LLC and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The lease was signed by the developer August 13 and countersigned by the USPS, Monday, August 24.

The USPS earlier this year selected 23 Barnabas Road as the preferred site to relocate the historic Hawleyville Post Office, which was closed citing safety and space issues this past February.

What happens next, said Mr Consalvo, is continued negotiations between the developer and the USPS to finalize interior design plans. This will allow the developer to begin pricing the buildout.

It has been three years of on again, off again negotiations with the USPS regarding the space, said Steve Nicolosi, who along with Christopher Meehan is a principle of Hawleyville Development, LLC, so he is very pleased to have the lease in hand at last.

“It makes me very happy that we have the opportunity to provide the USPS and the Hawleyville community with a facility, in the hopes that the Hawleyville Post Office will be around for hundreds of years more,” said Mr Nicolosi. “We are thankful to everyone — Christopher Murphy, Senators Dodd and Lieberman, the Save Hawleyville Post Office committee — for their support in keeping the service in Hawleyville,” he added.

As the owner of the building, Hawleyville Development, LLC will try to keep the interior work in their own control, Mr Nicolosi said, but it will remain up to the USPS to make the final decision on the contractor selected to fit out the interior of the post office.

Hawleyville Development is still waiting for the 100 percent plans for interior work to come to them from the USPS. Plans that show approximately 90 percent of the interior design are in its possession and management has already begun to gather numbers to bid on the interior finish job. “We feel secure in the fact that we are bidding the job fairly. We’ll work very closely with the USPS,” Mr Nicolosi said.

As soon as his company gets the go-ahead from the USPS, it will move forward to finish the building as quickly as possible, said Mr Nicolosi. “The quicker the place is finished, it benefits all of us,” he said.

 “The two parties will meet with officials again, hopefully by the end of September, to finalize the buildout numbers,” said Mr Consalvo.

It is possible that patrons will be posting letters from the new location before the end of the year, added Mr Consalvo, depending on the swiftness with which the USPS and developer are able to come to terms.