San Simeon's post office relocates and opens to the public Sept. 28 

San Simeon residents will no longer have to commute 9 miles to Cambria to purchase stamps or send packages as their newly relocated post office is slated to open to the public Sept. 28.

On Aug. 5, the U.S. Postal Service held a public meeting to discuss the possible relocation of the San Simeon Main Post Office at 444 Slo San Simeon Road.

There were two options available for the new facility, including the existing location inside the Hearst Corporation-owned Sebastian building and in the business district at 250 San Simeon Ave., suite 7A.

The U.S. Postal Service chose the second option as the preferred location for the community's post office because the Sebastian building would not be done with renovations for another year, according to Dean Cameron, a real estate leasing specialist for the Postal Service.

"It's a historical building and the owners always had plans to remodel it, but they could never come up with an appropriate time frame," Cameron said.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Hearst Ranch Winery
• COMING SOON The Sebastian building in San Simeon (pictured) will no longer be the location of the community's post office. Residents will need go to 250 San Simeon Ave., suite 7A, for their postal needs, starting Sept. 28.

San Simeon's main post office had to close its doors in August of last year due to safety concerns with the building. At the time, the Postal Service was already contemplating relocating the facility as it anticipated building renovations and the end of its lease on Jan. 31, 2020.

The push to relocate came when a structural engineer inspected the Sebastian building and stated that it could face significant damage in the event of a wind storm or earthquake. The Hearst Corporation and the Postal Service decided that San Simeon location employees should vacate the building.

Cameron said the corporation was helpful in allowing residents to continue using their P.O. boxes in the Sebastian building to bridge the gap between the old location closing and the opening of the new facility.

"But they were, one, uncertain if they could offer a space in the future building and when they could promise the delivery of it," he said. "Because we knew it was going to be over a year and the impact it would have on Postal Service clients, we really needed to make the decision to go where we did."

The last day for customers to pick up their P.O. box mail at the current location will be Sept. 26 and temporary cluster box units will remain in place there until Oct. 10.

The new location will be open for retail and P.O. box services on Sept. 28; P.O. box customers will retain their same box number. All P.O. box customers will be issued a new key to accommodate the new boxes that will be installed.

P.O. box lobby hours will be available 24 hours a day, and retail hours will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Δ