Site plan approval has been granted to Canada Post for a new 18,639 square foot letter carrier facility in the Ancaster business park that will replace Dundas' historic post office building and Ancaster's outdated depot.

City of Hamilton planning staff say the crown corporation has to fulfill several standard conditions before construction can start, at the corner of Tradewind Drive and Sandhill Drive.

Allison Rogers, manager of national programs in Canada Post's asset management department said an environmental assessment report on the proposed site is expected to be completed within a few weeks.

The environmental assessment started at the end of May. It's the second site Canada Post has considered for a new depot.

After an environmental assessment of property at 790 Shaver Road in Ancaster in the summer of 2007, Canada Post withdrew an offer to purchase the site. A spokesperson said that property did not have municipal services, and that's why the plan to build there was scrapped. The Crown corporation hopes to have the new facility ready for operation by the fall of 2009, which will leave the 95-year-old Dundas process surplus.

Canada Post has been searching for a new site for at least two years, in order to replace the two outdated facilities currently serving much of Hamilton's west end.

The downtown Dundas building is not designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, but is a building of interest to local historians and downtown business owners. Many have expressed concern over what will happen to the building - which features rare historic architecture. Canada Post is not interested in having the building protected under the Heritage Act prior to its sale.

Dr. Marc Boileau, graduate programs administrator at the University of Guelph and a member of Canada's National History Society, featured the Dundas building in his book of historic Canadian clock towers: Towers of Time - Ontario. Dr. Boileau argues the Dundas landmark has great significance. He said the building is one of only three in Ontario built with a central clock tower. The structure in Seaforth is the only other one still standing.