Olathe’s plans to relocate its downtown post office to free up more real estate for the area’s ongoing redevelopment are on hold amid uncertainty at the federal level.
The city and the Olathe Chamber of Commerce unveiled plans to move the post office at 110 N. Chestnut St. to a new yet-to-be-determined location last year during an annual budget workshop.
At the time, local officials suggested that the move could happen as soon as this year in collaboration with the United States Postal Service, though several details still needed to be worked out.
More recently, city and federal officials have indicated that progress toward reaching that goal has slowed or stopped altogether.
That comes with a backdrop of complex issues in the U.S. postal system as the Trump administration looks to significantly change it by potentially privatizing it or putting it under the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Even before that, the federal mail delivery system has faced a plethora of challenges in the past several years, including issues with mail delivery that have trickled down to Johnson County.
Late last week, Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, as well as Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents Johnson County, sent a joint letter to outgoing United States Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking him to prioritize the Olathe post office relocation effort.
“We appreciate the progress to date, and we understand the uncertainties USPS may be currently facing,” the three elected officials wrote in their joint letter. “However, we wish to again express our strongest support for the project and remind you that each of us remains committed to following the process closely.”
Cody Kennedy, a spokesperson for the city of Olathe, told the Post last week that the project has “stalled,” citing “recent changes at the federal level.” However, he said the city is still interested in pursuing the relocation project.
“We do remain hopeful that we can accomplish this goal and work toward an additional opportunity for downtown Olathe,” Kennedy said.
At the time of publication, the postal service’s local media contact had not returned the Post’s request for comment.
Moving Downtown Olathe Post Office would cost $8M
- The city’s capital plan for 2025 estimates the project would cost around $8 million, supported in part by a $2 million state grant.
- That budget would have covered the cost of relocation, new land acquisition, as well as construction and design for a new post office to serve the local postal code.
- The idea, according to the capital improvement plan project list, was to redevelop the current downtown Olathe Post Office site with an eye toward “bringing additional public spaces, retail and dining options” to the area.
Olathe has emphasized downtown reinvestment
Over the past several years, the city of Olathe as well as the community has focused heavily on reinvesting its historic downtown corridor. That’s started to come to fruition with the promise of new private investments to come alongside county and city projects.
First, the county opened a new courthouse in downtown Olathe, followed by the conversion of the old courthouse into a public green space now dubbed Johnson County Square and eventually a new downtown branch of the Olathe Public Library.
Additionally, the city started making real estate transactions, buying storefronts and selling off old city office space to make way for several popular KC restaurants to open new locations in the downtown area.
Olathe has also approved incentives for these redevelopment projects, offering limited sales taxes called Community Improvement Districts, giving temporary full property tax abatements and issuing bonds.
The post office site, a block east of Johnson County Square, could play a key role in continued efforts to reimagine what Olathe’s downtown looks like long-term, city officials have said.
“I do know that as we look to activate Downtown Olathe, it was identified as an opportunity for redevelopment,” Kennedy told the Post in 2024.
More Johnson County postal news: Federal audit sheds light on problems plaguing Johnson County post office
