Inspections Underway For Historic Post Office In Morristown

MORRISTOWN, NJ — An update on the status of the Morristown Post Office purchase was provided during Tuesday night's town council meeting, alerting the public to ongoing inspections at the historic site.

The final contract, which awarded a $3 million bid to purchase the century-old United States Post Office, a deteriorating historic facility on the Morristown Green, was finalized in the last month, bringing the building's sale to an end.

The long-awaited purchase will allow the town to relocate certain municipal operations there, and the Postal Service, which owns the building at 1 Morris Street, plans to lease back a portion of the first floor as part of the agreement.

Town Administrator Jillian Barrick stated during the meeting, in response to council requests for updates, that she expects the architectural report on the post office by late winter.

According to Barrick, the architectural firm was able to begin the inspection process this fall. The council previously stated that consultants will perform six months of "due diligence," which will include a feasibility study for potential uses of the building, as well as environmental and structural analyses.

Read more: Purchase Authorized For Historic Post Office In Morristown

"The architect was able to start the assessment process. They have been in the post office several times over the last two months. In fact, they will be in the building tomorrow piercing the building and doing boring studies of the masonry to understand the water penetration and the condition of the structure of the building," Barrick said.

The project is on track to complete the full report by January or February, which will assist the town in determining which operations can be relocated from the current town hall at 200 South St. to the renovated post office.

The architectural firm has reportedly already discovered some hazardous materials inside the building, which came as no surprise to the council, according to Barrick.

"They finished the phase one and, no surprise, they did find some hazardous materials, mostly asbestos, which we expected to find. They are suggesting a phase two be completed, which is something that will need to be discussed with our attorney," Barrick said.

There will still need to be further discussions regarding the asbestos cleanup and how that will impact the planned due diligence period, the town administrator said.