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Developers and Allston-Brighton politicians alike were left stunned after USPS reversed a prior commitment to a post office in Allston.

Noah Maslan, principal at Eden Properties, which owns the development, said that they had been negotiating with USPS for over two years on a lease. The lease was fully negotiated in late November, and he had been waiting for the higher ups at USPS to sign the lease.

“We were told that these things take time,” says Maslan. “At no point did anyone ever say that they were not moving forward or even a question of ‘it’s still up in the air’ about not moving forward.” 

Maslan had been coordinating with Allston-Brighton City Councilor Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Breadon to navigate through the process. Breadon wrote in a statement to Allstonia that on April 21, she received an e-mail from James Ruffing, USPS Real Estate specialist, who informed her that USPS had “decided to temporarily pause looking for an alternative facility [in Allston] while it further reviews the operational needs in the Allston, MA area.” 

After hearing about the reversal from Breadon’s office, Maslan called the broker in contact with USPS. “We heard from them that they’re re-evaluating their current business climate, and the decision came directly from USPS headquarters,” he said.

USPS had made a commitment to an Allston Post Office just last summer. In a letter addressed to Mayor Michelle Wu on June 20, 2025, Benjamin Kuo, the vice president of facilities at USPS, wrote that after a community engagement process, USPS has decided to proceed with a relocation at a location near its former site at 47 Harvard Avenue.

“This is the final decision of the Postal Service with respect to this matter, and there is no right to further administrative or judicial review of this decision,” Kuo wrote at that time. 

Breadon wrote that “my understanding is that there has been no recent precedence in USPS reversing its decision following issuance of a final decision letter.”

The reversal also comes as USPS faces difficult final decisions at the national level. In congressional testimony in March 2026, postmaster David Steiner testified that at the current rate, the agency could run out of cash by next year. He also said that they were exploring options, such as closing small post offices in remote and rural areas or raising the cost of first-class stamps from 78 cents to over one dollar. 

However, Breadon wrote that while she recognizes that budget cuts by the Trump Administration have impacted USPS operations, this year’s situation is similar to the previous year when the final decision to build an Allston Post Office was made. 

“It’s completely inappropriate for USPS to reverse a final decision shared in writing with elected officials and community members,” Breadon wrote. 

Breadon says that she is coordinating with Allston-Brighton’s congressional delegation — Senator Ed Markey, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Representative Ayanna Presley — to advocate for the Allston Post Office directly with USPS at the federal level. 

Maslan and Breadon said that residents can send letters to Benjamin Kuo to advocate for the post office in Allston. 

Maslan says that he is still holding out hope for the post office, which was planned along with retail space and housing units on top. He says construction for the site is otherwise on schedule and plans to be completed by the summer of 2027.