Islamorada community members weren’t only retrieving their mail inside the U.S. Post Office on Upper Matecumbe Key in recent days. They were also receiving word that the post office would close for good in a few months.
As word spread, it triggered efforts to formulate a petition to save the post office at 82803 Overseas Highway. Concerns throughout the community grew as village residents wondered if they’d have to get their mail and stamps at the Tavernier Towne Plaza, the nearest post office to Islamorada.
Despite the rumors, the post office won’t be packing up and leaving Islamorada. Debra Jean Fetterly, USPS corporate communications, told Keys Weekly on Sept. 10 there are no plans to close the Islamorada post office at this time.
Fetterly added that a lease expired last year, leading USPS and the landlord to negotiate an extension. Fetterly told the Keys Weekly on Sept. 17 that the lease runs through 2029.
The U.S. Post Office operates in roughly 32,500 properties, of which 24,000 are leased and 8,500 under the post office’s ownership.
The current post office building, between U.S. 1 and the Old Highway, was constructed in 1969. Through the decades, it has allowed residents to obtain mail, purchase stamps and send packages. It’s also considered a community hub where residents reconnect and socialize while grabbing their mail.
The post office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
