It’s official: The Cortez Post Office is staying put.
The U.S. Postal Service confirmed the post office at 12112 44th Ave. W., Cortez, will remain open at least until July 31, 2026.
“The U.S. Postal Service is pleased to announce it has signed a new five-year lease on the Cortez Post Office,” read a statement provided to The Islander Dec. 9 by USPS central Florida spokesman David Walton.
“The Postal Service values its place in the communities we serve at our post offices, stations and branches throughout the nation,” Walton wrote.
The post office’s fate was uncertain after a dispute —mostly about liability — between the building owner, John Banyas, and the USPS had prompted Banyas to not renew the lease.
Notice was given July 28 by Banyas that the post office would have to vacate. The office continued to operate as a holdover tenant after the previous lease’s expiration, which led Banyas to file for the USPS’s eviction Sept. 21.
What prompted the dispute?
In 2020, a flagpole in the post office parking lot fell and injured Richard C. Kiley. Banyas maintains the injury was the result of USPS’s failure to maintain its equipment and a violation of the terms of the lease. Subsequent requests from Banyas to be included in USPS’s insurance coverage were rejected.
An agreement was done after the USPS consented to include Banyas in its insurance coverage, according to Banyas.
The USPS declined to state the specifics of the agreement.