After signs of progress toward a Post Office branch returning to Watertown Square, City of Watertown officials recently received some bad news.
City Manager George Proakis told the City Council Tuesday night that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) informed the developers working on the project at 104-106 Main St. that they do not plan to open a branch in Watertown’s downtown.
“Recently, the USPS informed O’Connor Capital Partners that they no longer wish to explore adding locations as part of a wider strategy shift, despite the willingness and interest from the parties involved,” Proakis said. “My understanding is they canceled multiple in-progress conversations about opening retail storefronts far beyond just Watertown.”
Despite the setback, Proakis said the City of Watertown has not given up on getting a Post Office to come to the Square.
“The City fully recognized the importance of a downtown post office on a community, especially Watertown, and that is why we have reached out to our congressional delegation to help us with this effort,” Proakis said.
The announcement came after there had been some progress toward opening a branch in the new development, which is being built on the site of the former Watertown Square Post Office.
“Representatives from O’Connor Capital Partners shared with the City that they’ve engaged with the Post Office about returning to the storefront location in the newly developed building at 104 Main,” Proakis said. “Those developments took place over several months, and there was great interest in welcoming the Post Office back to Watertown Square. I think we were all kind of working optimistically in the right direction.”
Congresswoman Katherine Clark’s office has been contacted, and has started advocating for a branch in Watertown Square.
“She’s working with teams across the House and Senate to encourage the USPS to return to Watertown Square and serve our residents,” Proakis said. “So whether we are able to get the location at 104 Main or it’s another storefront in the Square, we’re looking forward to eventually welcoming the Post Office back to our town.”
Proakis added the City has not given up, and hopes to have some positive news in the future.
“I’ve worked very hard at trying to make Watertown Square a vibrant downtown, and I think a Post Office is a part of a vibrant downtown. It’s a piece of it that is missing in Watertown Square,” Proakis said. “I think our friends at the U.S. Post Office are much more focused on cost cutting and on efficiency, while I’m more focused on kind of the foot traffic of a Main Street and the things you’re supposed to be able to do here, and one of those is mail a letter, mail a package, pick up your packages, and all of the things that you typically do at a Post Office.”
The Watertown Dems will be having their monthly meeting on May 28th at 7:30PM, and Clark’s representative will be there. Please come and voice your support on this. https://www.watertownmadems.org/
If you cannot then call or email Clark, Markey and Warren as this is now a federal issue. The USPS is comparatively cheaper than FEDEX or UPS, and UPS even uses USPS on Sundays. So the government is subsidizing business here.
This will impact no excuse vote by mail for those here and abroad. No excuse vote by mail is new to Massachusetts but the rest of the country has been doing this for years – every state west of the Mississippi, except TX, and other like ME, OH IA, FL GA, NC, MI, WI, VA, etc.. Many former confederate states do not allow this. So this is voter suppression en masse for red, blue and purple.
Lastly, the USPS is a community builder and without community we the people cannot use our power effectively
And rather than use the drones for fire, I think we need more prevention. We need to ensure that alarms are in houses/businesses, working and loud. The fire at Moozy’s this morning was surprising. If there were alarms, then would they not woken the whole neighborhood. If the maintenance man had not spoted smoke at 4:30am, then we would have had a Lowell situation on our hand (six houses damaged by fire, 2 completely, 40 people displaced and 2 firemen sent to the hospital). I think we need to have a Fire 101 training for residents and businesses. Maybe touch-a-truck and check you smoke detector flyer.
In what way does this comment have any bearing to Watertown USPS returning to Main St? And its code in Watertown to have enough fire alarms in homes.
My mistake, this was supposed to be under Police drone article. I had too many tabs open.
We need a Post Office in downtown Watertown! It was the only large PO in town, centrally located, and easy to get to. I’d like to know why and how it left the location in the first place! That never should have happened.
Ms. Ferro, Had O’Connor Capital Partners truly wanted to relocate the post office in their retail, they would not have operated on, what seemed to many residents, on the quiet and behind the scenes to make it difficult for that to happen. When O’Connor made early public presentations of their project, I was one of several concerned Watertown residents who met with Mr. Proakis and raised the issue of the future of the post office. I had already contacted Representative Clark’s office about the loss of the post office and had received an email response from one of her staff, informing me of her concern and that she would look into the matter. I showed the email to Mr. Proakis, who claimed he knew nothing about the representative’s having been informed of the loss of the post office and that he would follow up. In the meantime, several of the postal workers kept me and others informed of their union’s search for a new location for the post office. The public was kept in the dark about the post office’s closing, except for rumors of its demise, until just a few days before it closed, when visitors to the post office saw a small-print notification posted on the door. Throughout, the public process about the O’Connor development, their spokesperson maintained that they were working diligently with the U.S. Postal Service to relocate the post office to their retail space. At the same time, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was overseeing a controversial $40 billion operational restructuring through infrastructure modernization and cost-cutting. He resigned in 2025, and the Board of Governors is searching for a permanent successor. While the postmaster search continues, Watertown residents no longer have a walk-to, full-service post office, and many Watertown residents are left to wonder if Mr. Proakis and elected officials lobbied as vigorously for retaining the post office as they did for replacing it with the O’Connor project.
I wrote to Rep Clarke and Sens Market and Warren last night. Two of the post offices we were referred to (Mount Auburn and Galen) are only open M-F 9-5, which is useless for many employed people. The third, in Watertown Street in Newton, opens at 7:30 am but I am not aware of a public transit option to get there. For a city of 35,000, this is unacceptable.
Excellent and thanks!!! I don’t know that Mount Auburn and Galen are necessarily safe as more cuts are coming.
I received a response from Rep Clarke that this is a local issue and to contact my state reps. I was disappointed and hope this is a response from a staffer who glossed over my succinct and clear message.
Thanks for asking and for the info. That would be incorrect as this is a federal matter. I will ask about having a central PO next Thursday with Clark’s rep. And I am thinking of proposing a single office in town because a centralized one would be best. If we could take the staff and equipment from the East Branch and Galen St to Main St, then it would accomplish the “cost saving” aim. Central offices are better usually as they have long hours, more staff and more offerings.
I am also asking about airplane flyovers, another issue Federal issue. Residents need to calling, seeing and writing to the Federal representatives on these issues. Our local and state can do little on these issues.
Watertown residents no longer have a walk-to post office, in a central location, where there is also reasonable parking. This is an unconscionable disregard for the residents of our town. The rationale for its importance, and resulting inconveniences have already been stated. I just wanted to add my support for the return of our post office to what I hope there is a long list of commenters and complaints. Thank you to all who use your voice, and to those public servants who are trying to act on our behalf.
Having or not having a post office in Watertown square is not that important to me personally. I do very little mailing.
BUT …….. it is VERY IMPORTANT to a large number of Watertown residents.
The whole O’Connor-post office negotiation story simply “smells” bad. Developers do not care one bit about the residents of the towns where they develop. They only care about the $$$$.
We elect and support our local leaders to look out for us. They need to be able to see though these deceitful ploys by developers. They need to make sure a post office is put in Watertown square and that O’Connor plays a role in making it happen. If not a post office in the new development, they need to donate space for another public entity.
By the way, the building looks HORRIBLE.
Mr. Graham, From its early public presentations, many attendees complained that it was too big and out-of-scale for Main Street, not to mention dismally ugly. That’s why many residents call it architrash and as derisively, the “Beast Devouring Main Street.” The developer gave it a fancy dame, Elysian Watertown Square, but many residents agree with you. “The building looks HORRIBLE.”
Yes, the building looks horrible. Another Frankenbuilding. The renderings made it look better than it appears that it will be. Let’s hope that the finishing touches improve it somewhat.
Why can’t we do better than this?
19 year East End resident.
It doesn’t sound like this is a developer issue, but rather a federal government cost-cutting issue. They are trying as hard as they can to limit mail-in voting, and all voting, ahead of the fall elections. We need a PO back in the Square, that is certain.
Hi Marcia,
I agree that we need a post office in the Square.
I’ve been following this issue since 2023. What started out as a developer issue languished so long that our City is put in a vulnerable state., akin to letting your cough linger so long that it turns into pneumonia.
In my view, the developer doesn’t bear as much responsibility for this as our public officials and boards do, for letting this happen without intervention. The developer’s main purpose: making money; the City’s first purpose: protecting its residents and nurturing their well being.
Many small businesses who had PO Boxes in that post office for conducting their businesses were immediately affected by this closing, and with not much notice and time to make alternate plans… totally disrespectful!
Linda Scott, resident
For the record, O’ Connor Development never promised that a Post Office was coming back to their new building. Yes, they said they would negotiate but now the USPS allegedly isn’t interested. What I find amazing is that the construction project started in late 2024 and up until this week it didn’t seem to be an issue. Now people are surprised by the City Managers report? The process of getting a new post office could have started the day the old post office building was closed. Obviously that didn’t happen. I hope our elected officials can get it done. Again, hard to believe we haven’t had a post office since 2024.
I think that the sticking point was the loss of the loading dock if the Post Office returned to its original location. It wouldn’t have the same operational capabilities and capacity without its inclusion in the new building.
I personally miss having a local post office but think that having a drive through drop off could be a better option. Most things like stamps or mailing boxes can be gotten online and delivered.
Having a drive through that can scan a QR code which prints out the shipping label could be very helpful and perhaps more economical for the postal system. I’m sure economics (and perhaps politics) are at play here.
How very selfish to suggest that the new housing under construction on Main St. (where the post office used to be) should not be built, because your personal convenience in accessing a post office is so much more important than having new homes for people who want to live in Watertown Square. Selfish doesn’t begin to describe it….
It’s not about depriving people (who can afford “luxury” apartments) of housing. It’s about having what every American city wants and needs as a public service. Even the little town of 575 people where I had a home in Vermont had a post office!
Businesses that have large mailings cannot park easily at Watertown’s two remaining post offices then carry boxes inside. And the post office in Coolidge Square is not handicapped accessible. We need an accessible location with some parking for a post office in the Square for all of us. Maybe the city should consider making space available in the Parker School Annex.
It’s not necessarily about convenience either. There are many seniors living within a short walking distance of Watertown Square who are now deprived of access to a post office. I used to walk the 5 blocks to the post office in the square but now have to drive to Nonantum’s post office. And Watertown is trying to reduce emissions, traffic, heat islands, etc? Where’s the commitment?
More ill conceived name calling. Wanting a PO in our town is not selfish nor is being opposed to bad development that changes the character of the town for the worse. The Main Street development could have been much better quality.
There is an element in town who seem bent on name calling directed at their neighbors who dare to express their opinions. There is nothing wrong with demanding better quality in development than we have gotten so far. Stop slandering your fellow townsfolk.