Post office
The Mankato post office was recently listed for sale. File photo
Posted: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 5:00 pm
Mankato Free Press
MANKATO — Those private developers and groups with dreams of how to reuse the downtown Mankato post office now know the price tag on the historic property.
The U.S. Postal Service has just listed it for $1.65 million.
The two-story 61,555-square-foot building sits on 1.5 acres, taking up much of a city block. There is a large parking lot in the rear of the building and some parking on the side of it.
The 1896 Kasota stone building is on the National Register of Historic Places. That designation does not put any restrictions on what is done to it after it is bought. The only exception would be if the future owner received any federal funds, such as grants for the project.
The property is listed at uspspropertiesforsale.com, which handles the sale of all postal properties in the country.
Mankato commercial Realtor Tim Lidstrom said the cavernous building has advantages and obstacles for potential buyers.
“It’s obviously in the downtown core, which has become hot now and it has a lot of land with it and that’s a bonus. I think you’ll find a select few who will take an interest in it. They’re going to want to preserve a lot of its historical aspects and that’s going to take a guy with creativity,” Lidstrom said.
“It’s a building that’s worked for a lot of years and hopefully someone will find a good use for it.”
The building is valued by the Blue Earth County assessor at $1.46 million.
Nearly two years ago the postal service, which has been hemorrhaging financial losses, announced it planned to sell the building. In recent years the number of employees in the building had dwindled and the whole second floor had just a few rented offices.
The City Center Partnership last year formed a task force to seek ideas about possible reuses for the building. Many of those ideas focused on arts-based organizations in the building with the hope a private developer may be able to redevelop the property for a mix of private and public uses.
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