In response to growing pressures and traffic safety concerns, Swarthmore’s post office plans to move from its current location on the first floor of Parrish Hall to the Sharples 4 Building, formerly known as the Delta Upsilon House. The relocation is expected to be completed by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, with new delivery resources available to students, according to Post Office Supervisor Mike Harper.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the amount of letter mail the college receives has been declining over recent years, while the college has also started to sign more large-package deliveries for students. In 2024, the Post Office ended the student individual mailboxes and now distributes letters from the main desk. These changes placed new pressure on the post office’s space, creating a need for a larger office to manage packages.
The new location in Sharples 4 will accommodate this by offering new lockers for packages, making deliveries available 24/7, and enabling quicker and more efficient pick-up for students. On the other hand, the new space also provides a more efficient loading dock for package deliveries near the Sharples building.
According to Harper, the relocation is largely a move to ensure campus safety. He said the current location of the post office causes vehicle traffic in the already busy pedestrian area around Parrish. The office’s new location in Sharples will be away from the Parrish Circle. It also allows many of Swarthmore’s services to be centered around a “services hub,” including the OneCard Office.
This process will begin with the renovation of the Sharples 4 location, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026. The actual relocation of the post office is set for the summer of 2026, making it likely available by the following school year. It is still unclear what will be done with the space currently taken up by the office, and a decision will likely not be made until the next school year at the earliest.
