Back in February of 2012 we asked "Whither the Post Office?" when USPS announced plans to sell the main post office.  A lot of water has since flowed "under the bridge" and through the underground culvert that runs next to the old post office.  It sold, then sold again, and the latest owner, Sares Regis, has worked diligently on plans with the city to get to the approval it just received.  The DJ reports

The Burlingame City Council unanimously voted in favor Monday, Feb. 1, of a development agreement with Sares Regis to convert the shuttered facility at 220 Park Road into a six-story commercial tower, expected to become the city’s tallest building.  The office building is proposed to be six stories, with five floors of office space built over a ground floor of retail and dining space.

The site is adjacent to city property where a surface parking lot is expected to be reconstructed into a new community gathering hub officials imagine to be similar to Courthouse Square in Redwood City.

We've worried about the building itself tucked behind fencing for nine years with potential maintenance issues that inevitably accrue to any building of any age.  The marble-clad lobby seen here is a gem and will make for a great retail or restaurant space.  And the "town square" will be a welcome addition particularly if it can successfully host some much-needed entertainment in town.  It will certainly get more use than the lawn ever did.

Parking should be OK given the giant new parking structure that many residents are gazing up at–some shaking their heads at the size and the shadow it casts.  Along with the Village at Burlingame, 220 California, the Bayswater development at the old Hower Auto site and now the Saris Regis project, one wonders if it is time to take a breather?  Perhaps we should see how this all plays out for awhile?

P.S. I kind of like the juxtaposition of the approval headline with the San Mateo downtown vacancy headline