Downtown post office at ZCMI mall to close

Rain, sleet and dark of night — postal employees can weather them all. But not construction.

The downtown ZCMI Center post office will be closing its doors on Dec. 29 to make way for the demolition of the mall and the future home of City Creek Center. The billion-dollar retail-office-residential project will be built on the two blocks housing the ZCMI and Crossroads malls.

In an impassioned "Dear Postal Customer" letter, the president of the Salt Lake City Area Local 6 of the American Postal Workers Union wants downtown mailers to know that his union tried hard to keep the branch office open.

"They will miss you," wrote Charlie Cash about the branch's employees, "and want you to know they have voiced concerns feverishly on your behalf. However, as often happens, our words fell upon deaf ears, and your store will be closing."

Cash also encouraged residents to contact their U.S. senators to complain that the decision to close Pioneer Branch was made without public comment. "You did not have a say in the matter. I personally feel that your needs and concerns were ignored by the United States Postal Service and this decision to close was neither public nor transparent."

The Postal Service will issue a statement on Thursday about the closure, according to spokesman Robert Vunder.

Cash encouraged residents to "contact as many people as you can to help the (City Creek) planners see the need for a post office to be included in the plans." Currently, Cash said, "it has been made very clear to me" that City Creek will not include a post office.

Cash added that the branch's employees are "deeply saddened" by the closure. The employees will be transferred "involuntarily" to other duties in Salt Lake City, he said.

The nearest branch will be the Downtown Station at Expo Mart 230 W. 200 South.

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E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com