For about six months, residents in Cherry Hill’s 08002 Zip Code have been taking their mail to a small trailer located behind the Ellisburg Shopping Center.
However, the United States Postal Service has announced it is moving forward to find a new, permanent home for the Ellisburg post office.
The USPS has identified three potential sites for a new post office location and is looking for the public’s input on what spot would best serve the community.
Cherry Hill Township received a letter from the postal service on Friday, Oct. 17, stating the USPS had narrowed its list of potential locations to three.
“They mailed a letter with the locations on Oct. 15, and we received it on Oct. 17,” Cherry Hill director of communications Bridget Palmer said.
The locations are in various areas on the west side of Cherry Hill. The first location is a former office building located at 1012 Haddonfield Road across from the Garden State Park shopping center. The second location is at the corner of North Kings Highway and Chapel Avenue, close to the former location. The final location is along Route 70 near the Barclay Farm Shopping Center.
Richard Hancock, a real estate specialist for the postal service, said there’s a few criteria they are looking at with the three locations.
“(There’s) a space requirement and there’s an operational analysis of whether a particular site will work as a post office,” Hancock said.
The post office has been operating out of a trailer near its former location in the Ellisburg Shopping Center since the spring. The post office was forced to move after it was unable to extend its lease with Federal Realty Investment Trust, the shopping center’s owners.
Since April, the township has granted the post office permits to operate out of a trailer near the Playdrome bowling alley until a permanent location was chosen.
Palmer said the township has been doing its best to stay in touch and work with the postal service on finding a new location.
“We have worked closely with them,” Palmer said. “We’ve tried to identify some sites with them.”
Any member of the community is welcome to offer input to the USPS on the new site. Palmer said the township can also send feedback to the postal service.
All letters regarding the Ellisburg relocation should be addressed to Hancock at United States Postal Service, P.O. Box 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498–1103. Residents can also email Richard.a.hancock2@usps.gov to send their feedback. Comments on the facility are being accepted until Nov. 15 and will be a factor in where the post office relocates.
“We have received some feedback and we will present it to the site review committee,” Hancock said.
The site review committee is expected to meet prior to the end of November.
