Story Update: Wesley Chapel’s New Contract Postal Unit Expected To Open By August! 

The new postal contractors say no exact date has yet been set for the CPU to open in Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54. 

STORY UPDATE! Unfortunately, we had to go to press with the July 11 Wesley Chapel issue two hours before we got additional info for our cover story. Please read that revised story here. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this snafu may cause.

 So, I recently found out — after telling you last issue that the Zephyrhills Post Office folks said they didn’t know when, where or even if the Wesley Chapel Contract Postal Unit (CPU) was going to re-open — that there is, indeed, a new location for the CPU that is currently under construction and is expected to open by the end of July or the first week in August. 

The CPU — which is still not a “full” post office but which is able to match U.S. Postal Service prices for stamps, Express and Priority Mail and is able to offer Certified and Registered Mail options — will likely be completed by new contractors Jevon and Cindy Williams by the end of this month, but once the construction has been completed, about a week of training is still required before the CPU can officially reopen. “Although we already have shadowed people at the Zephyrhills Post Office to see how it all works,” Jevon says. 

The biggest concern about the location in Freedom Plaza (above and below) for when the new Wesley Chapel Contract Postal Unit opens by the end of this month or early August is a lack of parking, although new contractors Jevon and Cindy Williams say the new CPU will have more visibility from S.R. 54 than the former location on Boyette Rd. 

Although no one at the Zephyrhills Post Office spoke with me “on the record,” my friends at Bosco’s Italian-to-Go at the eastern end of what is known as the Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54 (about 1/4-mile east of where the CPU on Boyette Rd. that closed at the end of January was located) told me they had met Jevon and Cindy, who told me how excited they are to serve the Wesley Chapel community. 

This husband-and-wife team of Realtors based in Wesley Chapel, with EXP Realty, say they also will sell a variety of items (which haven’t been decided on just yet) and provide free coffee to their customers. 

“Plus,” says Jevon, “this location will have a lot more visibility from S.R. 54 than the previous location on Boyette Rd.” 

Parking Concerns 

There’s no doubt that the biggest challenge whenever Wesley Chapel’s long-awaited CPU opens in its new location will be parking. 

Freedom Plaza is already pretty busy, as the main portion of the plaza facing S.R 54 includes popular restaurants like Bagelicious & More and Taco Son, plus a nail salon, a barber shop, a martial arts studio, the Grey Wolf Armory and Your CBD Store of Wesley Chapel. 

The post office will be located in the separate building which actually sits parallel to 54 and already includes the Great Hope Preschool, a Smoke Shop, the new Bath to the Bone dog grooming studio, as well as Bosco’s. The lot already gets pretty crowded and doesn’t really have room for expanded parking. 

There also is a drainage ditch located between Taco Son and the post office and the property behind the CPU’s building is owned by a different property owner. 

How much more that parking will be strained remains to be seen, but if you ever tried getting anywhere near the old CPU the last two or three weeks before Christmas, you know that parking at the new location during the holidays will definitely be a major issue. 

Jevon and Cindy agree with Bosco’s owners Nancy and Charles Frankulin, who said they are “excited to have the (CPU) next door, but, we are a little bit concerned about how the parking is going to work.” 

However, Jevon adds, “All I can say is that we are going to make it work.”Â