Issaquah Approved For New Post Office

ISSAQUAH - After years of postal lines snaking out the door, the city will finally get a new post office.

The Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service yesterday approved $10.1 million for the project, earmarked for completion by November 1996. "We've been waiting a long time for this," said Issaquah Postmaster Gordon Erickson, whose 92 employees are divided between two offices.

Four times the size of the downtown office, the new building will be near Gilman Village on 8.4 acres north of Gilman Boulevard between Issaquah Creek and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks.

The present Issaquah Post Office, which is too small and lacks adequate parking, delivers an average 115,000 pieces of mail a day to 42,000 customers. The delivery population is expected to increase to 59,000 by 2007.

Including parking-lot area and outside space, the post office will encompass about 165,000 square feet. The Postal Service plans to develop and lease the remaining portion of the 366,000-square-foot site through a private developer, Real Property Investors of Seattle.