One of Medway's two post offices has closed. Where residents can go to get USPS services

MEDWAY — Town officials say they were caught off-guard by last month's sudden closing of the Main Street post office.

Assistant Town Manager Allison Potter said the town was not officially notified of the closing, which Select Board Chair Dennis Crowley said occurred Aug. 26, and that officials learned of it only after a resident received a notice in the mail.

According to Crowley, Kevin Meehan, owner of Mendon-based Imperial Cars, now owns the property and plans a new development that will include a post office.

"The town is happy about the development, and preliminary drawings have a post office," Crowley said. "Meehan had told us (the town) they're willing to relocate a post office."

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Meehan could not be reached for comment.

According to the town assessor's database, the property was sold in 2020 and is owned by Milford East Main St., LLC.

Crowley and Potter each acknowledged the presence of a smaller U.S. Postal Service facility at 137 Village St., but they said that site has limited parking and in-person visiting hours, and is not handicapped accessible.

"It's my understanding the lease (at 115 Main St.) was up for renewal with the new owner of the property and there was a hang-up somewhere in renewing the lease," Potter said. "The town is hoping to get the post office reopened and we're concerned that it won't."

Post office is under 'continuity of operations' plan

Steve Doherty, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service, said the Postal Service was not given the option to renew its lease on Main Street, and that the post office is currently under a continuity of operations plan, which occurs when a post office's services are interrupted, such as during major disasters.

But Tariq “Ty” Fayyad, development and acquisitions manager for The Meehan Group, told the Medway & Millis Local Town Pages that the landlord did not evict the post office from the 115 Main St. (Route 109) location.

“They’re great tenants, we want to keep them, and we want to relocate them into one of the new buildings,” Fayyad told the publication in reference to plans for a new development at that location.

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P.O. boxes, bulk mail services moved

P.O. box services were moved to Medway's Village Street post office, according to Medway town officials. Bulk mail will need to be retrieved in Bellingham, however.

Crowley said the drive to the Bellingham Post Office from his house is roughly 20 minutes and contains eight sets of traffic lights.

"It's not permanent," Doherty said. "We're in the process of establishing a full-time office in Medway. We appreciate the patience in Medway and we hope to establish a new post office in short order."

Doherty added that although it's a slight inconvenience, street deliveries should not be affected by the continuity of operations plan.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: The Main Street post office closes in Medway