The purchase of the former post office building at 2286 Como Ave. in St. Anthony Park is complete, and Frattallone’s Hardware and Garden plans to open a hardware store in the building by mid-March, according to Tom Frattallone. Work on the project began on Nov. 30.
Frattallone didn’t have drawings of the façade of the building at press time, but said the company plans to “cover” the gray concrete on the outside of the building with brick veneer and stucco-like detailing that will make “the building fit into the neighborhood much better.”
“It is going to be a great-looking addition to the neighborhood,” he said.
The U.S. Postal Service’s lease on the building ended in November and USPS is looking to rent a new location in the same area. A public meeting to gather community input on the post office location was held on Dec. 8 at Luther Seminary’s Olson Campus Center. Postal service representatives have been meeting with building owners along Como Avenue to find a storefront to fit their needs. Comments may be submitted through Jan. 7 to Greg Shelton, real estate specialist, USPS, 200 E. Kentucky Ave., Denver, CO 80209-9950. USPS will post its decision at the Roseville post office, 2000 W. County B2, after Jan. 7.
The building went on the market in September 2014. It was owned by Lorraine McCann, whose late husband, Harold “Buzz” McCann, had operated Statewide Engine Rebuilders there through the 1960s. The building had been home to auto-repair and servicing businesses since at least 1933 until the post office moved in in 1970. For the previous 40 years, the Como branch post office had operated around the corner at 2238 Carter Ave., today the site of Micawber’s Books.
The Frattallone family owns 20 hardware stores in the metro area, including two on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.
