New post office construction underway in downtown Lufkin

LUFKIN, TEXAS (KTRE) - Convenience inspired the City of Lufkin to begin construction on a new post office in the downtown area, and only a few hundred yards from its previous location.

The old post office, located near the intersection of Frank and Lufkin avenues, closed in late 2018. The postal service used the facility for years before the decision was made to close its doors.

“The old facility, they were having some issues with the facility that the landlord was not willing to correct. and that’s what resulted in them closing that facility,” said Todd Stracener, vice president of development for Hicks-Co. Commercial Real Estate.

The new facility will be 4,000 square feet and include a 21 space parking for customers.

State Representative Trent Ashby was also very instrumental in the new location after hearing from hundreds of people in Angelina County with concerns.

“Over that period of time many people had to find alternative sources or locations to get their mail, but clearly the downtown location is in high demand and it just made sense, a good common sense in my opinion for the postal service to look at reopening a location downtown," said Ashby.

“Many asked the question why the post office doesn’t just open the post office that they were in and what most don’t realize is that the United States Postal Service leases many of the buildings that they occupy, so they don’t own the facility," said Stracener.

Stracener said with the new facility, many residents and businesses will now have easier access to their mail.

“It’s always a convenience factor for people that live in this area and there are a lot of businesses professionals that have offices downtown and it always just convenient to check you PO Boa few steps away," said Stracener.

The new downtown post office is expected to open next Spring.

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