South Windsor Officials Eye STEAP Grant for Old Post Office Project

The Town Council will soon consider whether to apply for a second Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant to put toward renovating the old post office into an emergency operations center and business incubator space.

The town has already secured $500,000 for the project, estimated to cost between $1.4 and $1.7 million.

The 9,000-square-foot building located at 1530 Sullivan Ave. was purchased by the town for about $1.1 million five years ago. It has been vacant since 2001.

While state officials would not approve use of a STEAP grant for creating athletic fields at Nevers Park, they did approve the grant for renovating the post office, according to Town Manager Matt Galligan.

That’s because the project is a sound investment in the town and region’s economy, said Mayor Saud Anwar.

“The project is going to allow the entrepreneurs in the community to use the facilities and get to the next level in their business… We need to invest in our capacity to harness that energy and strengthen it,” Anwar said Wednesday by phone.

The post office space would include both a facility to house fledgling businesses and an emergency operations center that could be used as a regional emergency training center.

“For the past too many years we haven’t gotten a single benefit out of it. We have to realize it has been a drain on the taxpayers without any return. Now, not only will it be beneficial to the community but it will really generate the economy in the long run,” Anwar said.

Currently the town is without an adequate emergency operations center, Galligan said. When the various town departments come together in the police training room, the space is too small, he said. 

“The lifeline of the community is safety and security and economic development,” Anwar said.