Crested Butte’s post office lease expires in less than a year and the Postal Service has not responded to the possibility of lost mail service for 4,000 residents.
The long-term lease for Crested Butte’s 3,300-square-foot post office on Elk Avenue expires in February 2026 and it’s unclear what will happen when the facility closes. It’s too late to build a new post office and have it ready in less than a year. It’s hard to fathom the estimated 4,000 residents in the north end of the Gunnison Valley traveling 30 to 40 miles to Gunnison for their mail.
“The Gunnison facility cannot handle this. They do not have the space or staff to add this volume,” MacDonald said.
Last month, Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd in sending a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy pleading for the Postal Service to make a decision and speak with the communities of Crested Butte and Mount Crested Butte.
“Closing this post office would be catastrophic since this area does not receive any home delivery,” reads the letter from members of the state’s D.C. delegation to the postmaster who quit the Postal Service last month.