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Downtown Leesburg Post Office could close

Friday, Jul. 29 by Laura Peters | 49 comments | Email this story

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Downtown Leesburgs historic post office, established in 1803, is one of nearly 100 post offices on a list of post offices in Virginia that could be closed. The U.S. faces almost 3,700 potential post office closures within the next year. The second Loudoun location put on the list for possible closure is the Dulles Finance Unit in Sterling. Dennis Voorhess, manager of U.S. Post Office operations for the Northern Virginia district, says the postal service hasnt yet begun studying how much money it would save or lose should the Leesburg office close. We perform a study. We look at the financial, how much would we save if we didnt have that operation, Voorhess said. We look at the effect on the community can we serve them by other acceptable alternate means - like how many other locations are there around where you can buy stamps or access locations. We have a community input period where we have community meetings where we send up questionnaires and thats part of the study. Voorhess said the whole process is set to take about six or seven months, starting with a proposal on what the plans are for the post office closure. People have an opportunity to comment on that, Voorhess said. He also mentioned the whole process can be cut off at any time. Loudoun resident, Michelle Greene de Hoyos said the post office would be beneficial to close due to traffic issues for patrons trying to use it ... Catoctin is better set up and allows for 24-hour access to the postage center. But, talking to downtown residents and business owners, the possible closing of the post office would be an inconvenience and sad for Leesburg. The thing that they should do is when we send out the questionnaires and we request the public input, they should definitely give us their opinions on how its going to affect them and the community, Voorhess said. On the Loudoun Times-Mirror Facebook page, many comments were left by people who said they could adjust to the other location on Catoctin Circle. Others wish to keep it opened. Would be a shame to see that lovely old [post office] close. Living in town, I do use it quite often, Leesburg resident Terri Seiter Azie said. Some said its just a matter of adjusting. I live downtown and use the downtown one on my lunch breaks. Catoctin isnt all that convenient for me, but if downtown closes, Ill adapt, Joelle Schultz said.

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Tue, Aug 02 at 02:38 PM by L-Ville Resident | Report this comment

I thought for sure that Waterford would be on that list, but they must have a lot of business. On occasion, when I drive through there, there are always lots of cars parked on both sides. I am glad that they were spared. Wonder how old that placed is? Here in Lovettsville, we have a nice facility, and the staff there are great! I hope that they find something to go into the old building across the street.
Tue, Aug 02 at 11:30 AM by Loudoun Resident | Report this comment

Actually, it would be wiser for the USPS to close both the existing Post Offices in Leesburg and build a new one with adequate access and parking. The downtown office has long lived past its usefulness and the one on Catoctin

Circle is a nightmare. Poor design and unacceptable access, parking for all. Get with it and move Leesburg into the 21st Century.
Mon, Aug 01 at 07:42 PM by truthdetector | Report this comment

Hey, Here We Go, LCRez needs your help. He is out of his meds. The two of you - since you are both the same person - really dont need to separate, into a sort of multipersonality thang. Just come together. Give each of your personalities a great big hug. Youll feel better for it.
Mon, Aug 01 at 07:38 PM by truthdetector | Report this comment

LCRez: Big Guy, see a doc, or something. You need meds, if you think you talk to Elvis. No wonder you are so out of it.
Mon, Aug 01 at 12:54 PM by LCRez | Report this comment

...if it werent such a shame that you are using multiple names posting here Yeah, and I spoke to Elvis Presley the other day, too! Unfortunately, he just left the building, so I couldnt chat any more with him.
Mon, Aug 01 at 12:47 PM by Here We Go | Report this comment

@truthdetectorThat should be liar. Now, I am really hurt. :-( @LCRezNow theyre on you!
Mon, Aug 01 at 12:03 PM by truthdetector | Report this comment

Dear LCRez: Words to live by, if it werent such a shame that you are using multiple names posting here, and want to see the post office close, for what ever reason you may have. So, right back at you!
Mon, Aug 01 at 12:01 PM by truthdetector | Report this comment

Gee, Thank You, Here We Go, I certainly shall have a very nice day! And you are still a jerk and a lier. Enough said.
Mon, Aug 01 at 10:38 AM by LCRez | Report this comment

The article here is about the Leesburg post office possibly closing, and we have people attacking each other. Its a sad state of affairs when we cant even talk nicely to each other. Before I moved here, Ive heard about how people treat each other, and now, I am witnessing it. Pathetic! Again, for those of you living in Leesburg, I do hope that you get to keep this post office.
Mon, Aug 01 at 10:08 AM by Here We Go | Report this comment

@truthdetector..again, you are among those LC residents that prove that the majority of people living here are rude and obnoxious (I feel bad for the minority of those Loudouners who still show humanity towards others). Did it ever occur to you that I may be new to this area? Did it ever occur to you that I never did business at said post office? Finally, did it ever occur to you that you need to look again at the postings. Lets see, people did call Nixon, Tricky Dick, he was a major part of Watergate, HeyMrPostman never said anything negative about this specific post office (obviously, he/she must have had some unpleasant experiences with their own carriers), so from what I can see, nothing was untruthful, nor was anything said that was hurtful. Calling people stupid or JERK isnt hurtful? Well, in the other parts of humane Virginia, it is considered hurtful, but here and in Northern VA, it is an everyday part of the majoritys lifestyle (rude, obnoxious, and all about me), yours included. Get a life, learn some manners, and most importantly, MYOB! Have a nice day!

Mon, Aug 01 at 08:14 AM by truthdetector | Report this comment

Dear Here We Go. Good grief, you are stupid, arent you. The earlier post obviously was that the post office on Catoctin Circle was built in 1972. That was in response to the claim that the location evidenced current planning deficiencies, as claimed by another poster. As to the rest of your comments, it really is difficult to overlook your foolishness. I do not think someone should stand silent while an idiot makes claims that are both untrue, and hurtful. The postal workers in this area, undeniably, work very hard, and do a great job. You, as a poster, do not.
Mon, Aug 01 at 06:20 AM by L-Ville Resident | Report this comment

For those living in Leesburg, I hope you dont lose your post office. Good luck! @leesburg momsounds like what Walker is doing to Lovettsville. @shawnprobably because they want to squeeze more houses on top of each other.
Mon, Aug 01 at 12:05 AM by Ole Loudouner | Report this comment

THE SIMPLE SOLUTION: Put a Post Office In The New Office Building Development Courthouse Square That Will Be Built Utilizing The Existing Loudoun Times Mirror Property! Someone should contact the developers and get the ball rolling!
Sun, Jul 31 at 05:36 PM by Here We Go | Report this comment

@HeyMrPostman - You missed onethey also mispelled plat. Its plaque. Hey was probably referring to mail it ins post. @ILIKETHEUSPSWhat in the world does Nixon have to do with this posting? When I think of Tricky Dick, I think of Watergate, but I wont venture there. Bottom line is that we should R-E-S-P-E-C-T others opinions. Not true in LC, I see!
Sun, Jul 31 at 05:23 PM by HeyMrPostman | Report this comment

@ILIKETHEUSPS..you exemplify the typical LC mentality that I see in the majority of postings and witness dailyrude and obnoxious. I wasnt even talking about this post office in particular, but the USPS where I live. Did you see anything in my post that mentioned this one?!? Perhaps you should take your own advice - Next time, try to think, before you speak. Have a nice day, OK? Oh, you forgot the e in Hey!
Sun, Jul 31 at 04:24 PM by ILIKETHEUSPS | Report this comment

Dear HyMrPostman: Or shall I say, JERK! In my opinion, the mail service in Leesburg is great. I find the postal delivery people to be extremely friendly, and competent. As to planning of the post office on Catoctin Circle, I dont think you have ever taken to time to notice plat on the inside wall where you put your mail. Does Richard Nixon mean anything to you? When that post office was built, Leesburg, and Loudoun County, looked a whole lot different than it does now. Next time, try to think, before you speak.
Sun, Jul 31 at 02:01 PM by HeyMrPostman | Report this comment

Its also the quality of service. When was the last time that you received a letter that belonged to someone else? Your mail was torn, creased, or shoved in your box? Your mail arrived late in the evening? A mail truck goes past your box 2-3 times a day? Its all about efficiency! Aside from having some packages that were a little dented (UPS), overall, UPS and FedEx do a pretty good job delivering items. Off my topic, I think that only having the Catoctin branch open is a serious traffic/pedestrian danger. I have seen near accidents at the entrance, as well as long lines of cars just waiting to get in. P*ss poor planning in trhe location whoops, I forgot that Im in LC!

Sun, Jul 31 at 09:21 AM by More Govt, plz | Report this comment

Cato tin isnt that bad. I park at the bank and walk across the street. Im in and out. The other one is a pain to get to so I never use it. Also, the UPS store is convenient. The PO is run like every other Govt agency (yes, I know its self funded) but its saddled with high oper costs, especially outrages pension guarantees and has no comp for regular mail.
Sat, Jul 30 at 08:45 PM by Ned Flanders | Report this comment

If I recall correctly, wasnt the USPS looking to build a bigger post office before Sept, 2001 ? Right after that, the USPS had to shift a lot of their money towards security. If that is true, it doesnt lessen the need for a NEW POST OFFICE WITH ADEQUATE PARKING AND INGRESS / EGRESS. Neither of our post offices have that, imo. Please close both of them, and open up a bigger one.
Sat, Jul 30 at 04:10 PM by shawn in Leesburg | Report this comment

@more govt please: are you arguing that fedex would deliver a letter for 25 cents? With that said if the usps could sell downtown and catoctin there might be money for a new post office. Anyway where would the PO boxes go? Is there room @ Catoctin? Plus lets face it, Leesburg will likely have 50k people soon so why shutter capacity?
Sat, Jul 30 at 03:54 PM by Laugh | Report this comment

Party of one: Love your thoughts, but who is the major? Oh, wait, I forgeot. Youre Tom Dunn, that mental midget who, when he gets overly excited, spells like that. Guess you got too of something last night. Or maybe, there was a full moon. Or maybe, you are as stupid as a post, Tom Dunn.
Sat, Jul 30 at 12:42 PM by party of one | Report this comment

@leesburg mom, I agree, I wish Reid was not running the town. It is too bad the major is such a lightweight and allows herself to be sidelined. Or maybe she is simple minded and just goes along with the others out of peer pressure. Anyways, too bad she could not stop all the development.
Sat, Jul 30 at 09:56 AM by leesburg mom | Report this comment

One other problem. Ken Reid has voted time and again to have more residential units built all around the area where this post office sits. More cars, every day, clogging the whole area. No one would be able to get to the post office when Ken Reid is done ruining the downtown.
Sat, Jul 30 at 08:29 AM by more Govt, plz | Report this comment

Yourre unhappy with the USPS You think the lines are long, just wait for the full impact of Obamacare. you aint seen nothin yet. This is typical impact of Govt regs. FedEx and USPS are prohibited from delivering mail to your home mailbox. Just imagine if they could. Your mail would get there in Hals the time and half the price.
Fri, Jul 29 at 09:39 PM by Schmitty | Report this comment

Great idea even more traffic at Catoctin, where they cant even keep the APC area stocked with flat rate boxes so you dont have to wait in line. On two seperate occasions this week there were no boxes, whats the point of having the machine to reduce the wait times...if I HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND WAIT ANYWAY!!!!
Fri, Jul 29 at 08:03 PM by Loudoun outsider | Report this comment

Can someone pls find out if Jeff Wolinski was involved in this too?? ughhhhhhh!
Fri, Jul 29 at 04:49 PM by Lucy | Report this comment

That P.O. has remained open far too long. Its really for the convenience of the local gov. and biz. foot traffic. Getting in or out of there, in a vehicle, is a risky venture. Its old (as am I)and sometimes is sad to see change but so it goes. Ive lived here most of my life and remember the excitement over the new P.O. on Cactoctin (which was too small when it opened.) I,too. would love to see a bigger facility but the money simply isnt there.
Fri, Jul 29 at 04:33 PM by Marcy | Report this comment

@ hmmm: They are actually quasi-government. The key word is *independent* From Wikipedia: Since its reorganization into an independent organization, the USPS has become self-sufficient and has not directly received taxpayer-dollars since the early 1980s with the minor exception of subsidies for costs associated with the disabled and overseas voters. The decline of mail volume, due to the increased usage of email, has forced the postal service to look to other sources of revenue while cutting costs to maintain this financial balance.[3]
Fri, Jul 29 at 04:11 PM by Hmmm | Report this comment

The United States Postal Service (also known as USPS, the Post Office or U.S. Mail) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. (from Wikipedia)
Fri, Jul 29 at 03:14 PM by Marcy | Report this comment

@ Leave it up to the Big GovtGet your facts straight! I am always amazed at how many people do not know that THE POSTAL SERVICE IS NOT A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY! Our taxpayer dollars do not go to support the Postal Service. The Federal Government does not provide any funds to the Postal Service. It is not operated by the Federal Govt and the Govt will not bail them out. However, the Postal Service is in a nowin situation because Congress must approve any rate changes. So how can an organization be profitable delivering a letter for 44 cents? And UPS and FEDEX certainly wont deliver your letters for 44 cents. With the high price of gas, the lower volume of mail, and the handcuffs that Congress puts on the USPS to raise rates or cut delivery days, it is no surprise that they are losing money. The idea of closing 3700 post offices around the country is to save money and adjust their operations to the lower volume of mail being sent. It really has nothing to do with customer convenience. It would defeat the purpose of saving money if they built a nice new facility for Leesburg.
Fri, Jul 29 at 02:46 PM by waya | Report this comment

They need to build a bigger post office with a bigger parking lot, maybe at the old Barbour and Ross property? The PO on Catoctin is a nightmare to get in and out of and there is always a line no matter what time of day.
Fri, Jul 29 at 02:01 PM by disgustedtaxpayer | Report this comment

Obviously this brnach is not busy enough to keep it opne. This shows how the post office does not think things out - why do we have two branches so clos together? The fact is we are all going to have to make some sacrafices if the post office is to survive. So lets stop complaining and support them as they revamp into a leaner, and profitable USPS.
Fri, Jul 29 at 01:45 PM by mail it in | Report this comment

Why is UPS and Fedex booming, and the USPS dying, and smaller retail spaces not keeping pace with population and economy trends? Technology. Packages

via online shoppping is booming, and a huge chunk of it is done with UPS and Fedex. The entire ebay culture of sales cant be overlooked, but most ppl I know who do it, use USPS to ship. But mainly, the old pen and paper method of communicating is gone, usurped by email, and the junk mail/direct mail industry is also trending more to email and online advertising, so those stalwarts of volume usually done by USPS is going away. Harsh criticisms aside by those who feel anything government has to be wrong, wasteful, and blamed for anything going wrong in their lives, the USPS infrastructure is too large for the modern demand of their services, because of the private sector and the technology changes. So, it must cut back, like closing 3,700 retail outlets (post office locations). When this came up a few months, I noted, beware the trends - you will soon not get mailed delivered to your house, but rather a mailbox bank somewhere, and you wont get it 6 days a week. And privatizing all mail/package delivery would leave it open to the whims of the free marketwhich means, at some point, delivery of products/mail could either cease if deemed unprofitable, or left to the lowest costing providerwhich rarely results in quality service. So, if you are fine w/ your mail having a less than near perfect chance of getting deliverd (Ive never knowingly not gotten a parcel through USPS), OK. Id rather have a govt. entity overseeing it, knowing it will deliver it the same, good economy or bad, w/o the worry of turning a profit. Something are NOT better off left to free enterprise, some things are more important than the bottom line.
Fri, Jul 29 at 01:41 PM by Hugh | " class="blue2">Report this comment

I print my stamps at home

Fri, Jul 29 at 01:13 PM by Shawn in Leesburg | Report this comment

Could you put the stamp vending machine and a mail drop area in whatever the old post office is used for? That way downtown still has some postal service, but if keeping the PO Boxes, etc., is a money sink, then I do agree with Penny in that the Catoctin branch is pretty crowded. Hell, why not open a larger branch on that part of the 300/400 block of Harrison thats for sale?
Fri, Jul 29 at 12:33 PM by Leave it up to the Big Gov | Report this comment

Proof that if you let the government get its hands invloved with something, it will fail. UPS and Fed Ex are exploding with business. The PO well its going belly up because the government has no clue how to operate. The is one of the few areas of the government that brings money in.however just like everything else, they waste. I guess in 10 years we will be talking about bailing the PO out of debt? It is the direction our country is heading in.. total bankruptcy.
Fri, Jul 29 at 12:01 PM by Penny | Report this comment

Sure, close it down, lets all go to the Catoctin branch where the line to pull in usually overflows in both directions onto Catoctin Circle causing congestion and once you get in the doors, the line frequently spills far into the lobby. Solution, keep the downtown branch, build a larger, more efficient Leesburg PO with adequate parking spaces. Then close the Catoctin branch.

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