Postal building gets new bids
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
The U.S. Postal Service has received "several" offers from local and national developers to buy the historic downtown Honolulu post office building, according to the property's listing agent.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Hawaii Inc. solicited bids for the property in April after a 5-year-old sales contract with a retail developer was canceled last year.
The downtown post office building is listed on the state and national registers of historic places.
Neither the postal service nor its broker would identify bidders or say exactly how many offers were received. The government will review the bids over the next several weeks, though it is not certain any of the offers will be accepted.
No asking price was set for the 79-year-old building. One condition of a sale is providing the post office inside the building with additional space or alternate space nearby.
The last proposal for the property was a $54 million boutique shopping center. USPO Redevelopment Corp., headed by Russell Allen and Harold Spector, had a contract to purchase the property for $11.5 million and completely renovate it. But the deal, struck in 1996 and extended into last year, was called off in September by the Postal Service after the developers failed to close financing.
The six-story complex bordered by Queen, Merchant, Richards and Mililani streets is known as the federal building because it housed the post office, customs and courthouse. It is on the state and national regis
