MAIL FACILITY MAY GET NEW HOME IN HUB
Massport, Army ink deal
Massport signed a letter of intent Wednesday with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to acquire an approximately four-acre parcel in South Boston that could help pave the way for the relocation of the U.S. Postal Service mail facility from the downtown side of Fort Point Channel.
The authority would combine the U.S. Army Reserve-owned land at 525 E St. — now used as paved parking — with 12 adjacent Massport acres that partly front Summer Street and offer the combined land for the postal facility.
“In order to make a whole parcel for the post office project, it would be advantageous to have this parcel — which the Army doesn’t need anymore — included,” Massport CEO Thomas Glynn said.
In exchange for the land, Massport would build an 8,000-square-foot tactical equipment maintenance facility for the U.S. Army Reserve on Army land at the former Fort Devens, Glynn said. The land and construction each are valued at about $10 million, he said.
Russell Wicke, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, confirmed the negotiations.
“We are in discussions with the … Massachusetts Port Authority regarding the exchange of U.S. Army Reserve property located in South Boston,” Wicke said by email. “The property exchange is for the construction of new U.S. Army Reserve offices, maintenance facilities and training facilities at Devens.”
The relocation of the Postal Service facility, in play for nearly 20 years, could allow for a $1 billion-plus expansion of South Station to accommodate projected growth in MBTA commuter and interstate rail demand. Those plans, which would add seven tracks and four platforms at South Station among other improvements, require demolishing the postal facility and are undergoing federal review.
“MassDOT continues to work on the issue of South Station expansion plans in an effort to meet future needs for rail and support local economic development activity,” MassDOT spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard said. “MassDOT ... continues to evaluate track layover site options and continues to have conversations with stakeholders who would be impacted by any expansion plans.”
A Postal Service spokeswoman would only say the agency is “not involved in the initiative with Massport and the Army Corps of Engineers.” Its current four-floor facility on Dorchester Avenue spans 1.2 million square feet on 15.3 acres.
“The post office negotiations have kind of ebbed and flowed,” Glynn said. “Recently they have slowed down a bit. But everyone believes that ultimately the post office project will happen.”