Kona post office to change location

Despite guesses and conjecture running amok on social media, The United States Post Office has not officially chosen a site for a new retail location for the Kona Post Office, and are seeking community input.

Postal customers in Kona received notice of the proposed change in the mail over the past week which indicated the new retail space would be “within two miles of the current location”.

However, the Postal Service indicated it is proposing to relocate the retail services to the Niumalu Marketplace, located at 75-971 Henry Street in the shopping complex that is home to the new Safeway store.

The notice stated it has outgrown the existing Post Office on Palani Road and is proposing to relocate to an approximately 10,602 square foot space

Parking at the existing facility has become increasingly difficult after the side entrance parking was fenced in and designated “Postal Vehicles Only”. Moving the retail operations to a new location will help rectify the situation.

The existing USPS facility would be retained as an annex for mail carrier operations only and PO Boxes currently located at the Palani Road facility would be relocated to the new facility.

The specific operating hours of a proposed new retail facility have not yet been determined, but it is likely that they would be similar to the current retail facility’s operating hours according to USPS spokesman Duke Gonzales.

Postal customers are invited to send comments on the proposal to: Attn: Kailua-Kona, Hi Retail Relocation, United States Postal Service, PO Box 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498-1103