Downtown Columbia post office staying

The U.S. Postal Service has signed a lease that will keep the post office in downtown Columbia in its current spot for five more years, a USPS spokeswoman said Thursday.

The post office is on the ground floor of the American City Building, which overlooks Lake Kittamaqundi.

The USPS announced in November 2013 that the future of the post office was in doubt after its current lease, which expired in December, was up.

Shortly thereafter, USPS and the building owner Howard Hughes Corp. agreed to a six month lease extension, which brought the lease termination date to May 31, 2014.

The temporary lease extension was done so the two sides could work out the terms of a long-term deal, which a USPS spokeswoman said was finalized in April.