Berkeley's downtown post office, once on the market, is now no longer for sale, Postal Service officials told the Contra Costa Times.
That's good news for the historic building's many devoted fans, some of whom filed lawsuits that sought to block the Postal Service's plans to sell the building.
Both the City of Berkeley and the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed suit against the USPS, alleging that the USPS didn't bother to conduct a series of reviews required under federal law.
The USPS filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuits on Jan. 22, declaring in court documents that since the building is no longer for sale, the lawsuits are "moot," the newspaper reported.
Meanwhile, activists are not satisfied, noting that the Postal Service is refusing to say what its plans are for the building other than restating that the building's not for sale.
The USPS has sold other postal buildings, many of which are architectural gems, without public notice, the newspaper reported.
Two commercial real estate firms at separate times suggested that they were close to securing the building, one of which was commercial real estate firm CBRE, whose chairman is Richard Blum, the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the newspaper reported.
