Social Security office plans move to former Smitty's

The office will be closed Dec. 15 while it transfers from 806 N. Jefferson to the former Smitty’s store, 1570 W. Battlefield, Ste. 100, according to District Manager Ron Ponds. The new location will open Dec. 18.

The space is being leased from Davis Properties, which owns the 74,000-square-foot building. The remainder of the space is still available for lease, according to company co-owner Patrick Harrington, but no other tenants have been secured. Harrington said the division of the remaining space is undetermined, but the minimum offered to a single tenant would be 20,000 square feet.

More parking and a roughly 20 percent increase in office space are the major improvements over the old Social Security office, Ponds said. A larger reception area with more counters will cut wait times for the office’s 300 daily customers, and there will be private areas for customer interviews.

“It will be more convenient for the public because they won’t have to scramble for parking places a half block away and walk here; they’ll be able to park right in front of the building,” Ponds said. “And of course, we serve a significant number of disabled and elderly individuals, so that’s a hardship for them.”

Ponds said the office, which employs 61, likely will hold an open house for the public in the spring.

The Social Security Administration owns the Jefferson building. Ponds said plans for selling it haven’t been determined, but it could be donated or sold at a nominal cost to a nonprofit agency.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s Nov. 29 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.