The University’s lease extension with the U.S. Postal Service shows the variations in UT’s leasing agreements with non-University entities.

Late last month, the Postal Service extended its lease with the University through February 2016, for which it will pay an annual fee of $1.

Postal Service spokesman Sam Bolen said the low price of the lease is because the post office provides a public service to the campus and surrounding community. The Postal Service has similar leasing agreements with both profit and nonprofit organizations.

“It varies by institution,” Bolen said. “Some universities have their own mail operations, some of them contract it out, some of them do it in-house. For schools that are really large like the University of Texas, our presence on campus [was] requested roughly 50 years ago.”

Campus Real Estate Director Amy Wanamaker said the lease pricing has historically always been $1 annually. The University does not expect the extension to affect financial aspects of the lease.

The post office has maintained its location in the West Mall Office Building since 1962, according to archived blueprints of the University building. Though alternative places for the relocation of the on-campus branch had been considered in meetings between the University and the Postal Service, University Operations spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said the extension times were not to give the service time to seek out a new home.

University’s deal with U.S. Post Office shows differences in leasing agreements