SWANNANOA, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Swannanoa residents are expected to get their post office back early next year, but anyone expecting the same services they had before Tropical Storm Helene may be disappointed.

The U.S. Postal Service has confirmed that the new facility won’t have a traditional retail counter. Instead, customers will use self-service kiosks for most transactions, with an employee available during regular business hours to help with certain services.

USPS spokesperson Philip Bogenberger said the new post office at 2230 U.S. 70 is expected to open during the first quarter of 2027. A specific date has not been announced.

The facility will offer 24-hour access to post office boxes and self-service amenities, including kiosks, a rapid drop-off station and smart parcel lockers.

An employee will be available during normal business hours at what USPS calls a “wicket door” to help customers pick up held mail and packages and handle other customer needs.

But customers who want to buy a money order or ship a package internationally will have to go elsewhere.

“Customers needing full-service retail assistance, such as for international shipping or buying money orders, may access these services at nearby full-service locations, including Oteen and Black Mountain,” Bogenberger said in an email to 828newsNOW.

USPS estimates both locations are about a 10-minute drive away.

The self-service kiosks will allow customers to buy stamps, mail letters and packages, renew post office boxes and schedule passport appointments.

Customers can use credit cards at the kiosks to complete most retail transactions, Bogenberger said. Cash transactions will be available at the wicket door in limited circumstances.

Residents had hoped for full-service post office

That’s exactly what retired Swannanoa postal clerk Dan Slagle feared when he began hearing reports earlier this month that the new post office wouldn’t have a staffed retail counter.

In an Oct. 13 Facebook post, Slagle said he hoped the information was wrong.

He raised those concerns with the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 20, telling commissioners that USPS had previously assured residents the new post office would include mail carriers, post office boxes, and full-service retail operations.

“On September 13th, after being asked if our new post office would include carriers, post office boxes, and a full-service retail unit, the postal service answered, ‘Yes,’ to all three,” Slagle told commissioners.

He asked commissioners to contact USPS and find out exactly what services the new post office would provide.

The lack of a traditional retail counter could be especially inconvenient for customers who rely on cash, need services that kiosks cannot provide or prefer dealing directly with a postal employee.

The new facility is being built in the former Family Dollar building along U.S. 70. USPS signed a 10-year lease for the property in April, with options for two five-year extensions. Construction began in September.

Buncombe County Commissioner Jennifer Horton previously shared a USPS estimate that construction would be completed in the first quarter of 2027, cautioning that finishing the building would not necessarily mean it was ready to open.

For residents who have waited more than two years for their post office to return, the new facility will bring back some much-needed convenience. But it won’t bring back the full-service retail counter they had before Helene.