COUNTY - Bridgewater's post office will move across town to North Street from King Street.

 The letter-carrier depot and post office will rent the main floor of a new building by January 2010 when construction finishes later this year, the Canada Post Corporation said.

 The new locale means big improvements in terms of space and parking for customers and its roughly 30 employees, corporation spokeswoman Genevieve Latour said.

 "We will have the opportunity to grow and to provide a better service," she said last week. She indicated the move is not connected to problems with asbestos in the King Street building last year that were discovered during a job to repair a water leak.

 The asbestos material was removed and the repairs completed, and a Dartmouth-based environmental firm determined the inside air was safe after air-quality tests.

 "Employees from what I hear were very happy with the move and the announcement."

 The new building will be constructed at civic address 131 North Street, which is a vacant lot between Haven Drive and an apartment building. The property belongs to Ocean Capital Investment Moncton and is currently assessed at $28,100.

 Acadia Broadcasting, which operates CKBW Radio, is a subsidiary of Ocean Capital. The North Street property is also thought to be the new home for the South Shore radio station although nothing's been made public.

 Construction of the new building is expected to start "any day," Ms Latour said.

 Mayor Carroll Publicover announced Canada Post's intentions at a June 22 town council meeting. He expects the town and the Bridgewater Development Association's property action team will work together in reference to what the future holds for the King Street building.

 Canada Post owns the building and the corporation's national real estate team will determine the building's fate.

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 "We haven't looked at any opportunities yet," Ms Latour said. "Our focus was really in securing another place and then we'll focus on the actual building in the next few months."

posted on 06/30/09