Old Post Office Gets Spruced Up

The old Post Office in downtown New Port Richey got a makeover Saturday.

A squad of about 40 volunteers came to spruce up the building at 6345 Grand Blvd. They painted the building’s walls, both inside and outside. Volunteers also took down boards covering the building’s windows.

New Port Richey’s first post office was established in 1915. In 1959, it was moved from the Arcade building on Main Street to its Grand Boulevard location, according to a press release from the city. A dedication was held that year. 

The building served as a post office through 1976, according to the release, and later became property of Pasco Office Supply and then the property of the First Baptist Church of New Port Richey. It became city property in 2005, when the city purchased the First Baptist Church.

Jim Schuh, a longtime city resident, painted he inside of the building with a roller.

“I want to help the city get things done cheap,” he said.

Four students from the National Honor Society at Gulf High joined the cleanup effort.

Seychelle Baker, a senior at Gulf High, was one of them.

“I think it’s important because if you don’t, the community will become dilapidated,” she said.

The building has long been vacant and dormant, but John Hagen, s president and chief executive officer of the Pasco Economic Development Council, has ideas on how to use it.

He says his organization would like to use the building as a business incubator or “maker space.”

 Small businesses could use the space, and the PEDC, which gives the city advice on redevelopment and marketing issues, can help them grow.

How would you like to see the building used?