Neither rain nor snow nor heat may stop the mail, but aging buildings might. Across America, postal workers sort mail in facilities where ventilation systems haven't been properly maintained in years and electrical systems strain to meet modern demands.
The United States Postal Service operates more than 34,000 facilities, including mail processing centers, retail locations, and delivery hubs. These facilities are supported by a fleet exceeding 231,000 vehicles. Yet much of this infrastructure shows its age. When Office of Inspector General auditors recently examined 118 processing facilities, they found that preventive maintenance was not consistently performed for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment. A separate assessment of 193 facilities found widespread need for repairs, filter changes, and system improvements to address indoor air quality.
USPS owns 8,515 properties while leasing another 22,798. Owned facilities can undergo major capital improvements through federal programs, but leased spaces depend on landlord cooperation, with upgrades needing to meet postal specifications while making financial sense for property owners. As federal funding struggles to keep pace with modernization needs, private infrastructure firms like American Infrastructure Partners are exploring how established contracting mechanisms can help address the backlog.
USPS has launched an ambitious response through its Delivering for America plan, committing $40 billion over ten years to reorganize operations around modernized Regional Processing & Distribution Centers, Local Processing Centers, and Sorting & Delivery Centers. The Atlanta Regional Processing & Distribution Center—roughly one million square feet opened in February 2024—exemplifies this transformation, consolidating processing from multiple sites.
Congress added momentum through the Inflation Reduction Act, providing $3 billion for fleet electrification and supporting infrastructure: $1.29 billion for vehicles and $1.71 billion for charging stations and facility work. These funds, available through September 2031, had seen $112.3 million disbursed as of February 2024.
The electrical upgrades required for fleet electrification often trigger broader improvements. Installing charging stations requires new electrical panels, upgraded feeders, and sometimes entirely new electrical service, work that intersects with aging building systems already requiring attention.
American Infrastructure Partners has positioned itself in this ecosystem through its American Postal Infrastructure platform , which the firm describes as "one of the largest platforms of post offices and logistics real assets in the U.S.," citing over 870 properties across 47 states and Puerto Rico.
"Infrastructure is a local problem," notes Bob Hellman, CEO of American Infrastructure Partners. "Eighty percent of infrastructure is owned and controlled at the local community level.”
"As private infrastructure investors, those of us in the business need to do more than react to an asset. We need to be reacting to a problem," Hellman wrote recently. "Our industry needs to listen to what a community's infrastructure problems are.”
The modernization of America's postal facilities is a challenge no single funding source can address. USPS continues investing through its $40 billion plan. The Inflation Reduction Act provides time-limited support. Private investors like American Infrastructure Partners may support specific improvements in partnership with facility owners.
"Citizens should have the ability to hear about these hard truths and make informed decisions about the future of their infrastructure—whether they opt to use private infrastructure funds or not," Hellman wrote in a recent analysis of infrastructure funding options .
The most practical projects focus on core functionality. Success won't come from grand announcements but from steady improvement of facilities that communities depend on for essential services—aging infrastructure transformed through a combination of federal investment, established contracting mechanisms, and private capital working within public oversight.
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