DOVER — The city’s landmark 55 Loockerman Plaza post office location for five decades will be vacated in a couple years, officials said Friday.

The United States Postal Service is “unable to renew our lease at the current location,” spokesman Ray Daiutolo Sr. said after announcing an upcoming public meeting “to discuss the proposal of relocating the Dover Post Office.”

On June 11 at 7:30 p.m., a USPS representative will make a presentation at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting at Dover City Hall at 15 Loockerman Plaza. A series of public meetings to gather and present information will follow, in a process Dover Mayor Robin R. Christiansen said will take a minimum of six to nine months, possibly more.

When the post office settled into the current facility on city-owned land in 1964, the mayor said it was built to last five decades, which have now passed. The current lease expires in 2020.

The USPS said the first step in the process is the public meeting. Mr. Daiutolo said the goal is to find a new location as close as possible to the current location.

Mayor Christiansen believes the city will be best served by making to move somewhere in the downtown area, where it has remained during four different location shifts through the years.

“Traditionally my preference as an individual and in a historical sense is to continue to have a post office presence in the downtown area,” he said. “That way it can continue to be an economic driver by bringing people into the area with the plan to make it convenient for them to do business there and meet their needs.”

According to the USPS, “If the relocation is approved, there will be no changes to mail delivery, customers’ addresses or Post Office Boxes as a result of this relocation.”

The USPS said written comments on the proposal will be accepted for 30 days after the meeting date and submitted to:

Richard Hancock, Real Estate Specialist, United States Postal Service, Facilities Service Office, PO Box 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498-1103 or email to richard.a.hancock2@usps.gov.

The USPS noted it “receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage products and services to fund its operations.”

The Dover Post Office is open Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is closed Sunday.

Bulk mail is accepted Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The last collection hours are 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Lobby hours are 4 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Passport appointment hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.