LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — A year-long battle over mail delivery in Arden is now getting a powerful new ally: Palm Beach County leaders.
The issue? Hundreds of homeowners in the Loxahatchee community have mailboxes at the end of their driveways — but the U.S. Postal Service refuses to deliver there. Instead, residents get their mail at cluster boxes down the street, or worse, they have to drive to a post office.
WATCH BELOW: 'When you buy your house, you expect to get your mail at your house,' Balpreet Grewal tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
County officials are now asking Sen. Rick Scott’s office to step in and help get the rules changed.
“We would like to get our mail just like everybody else,” said Arden resident Gus Frousaikis.
A letter from Palm Beach County calls on Arden residents to join in their effort to push the federal government, and the U.S. Postal Service, to start delivering directly to their homes.
“That's a positive step, we're hoping something can happen this time. We would like to get our mail just like everybody else, nothing special,” said Frousaikis.
Loxahatchee Acreage
'We've had enough': Some Arden residents left without mail service for months
Frousaikis first sought help last year after WPTV uncovered that more houses were built in Arden than what had been agreed upon with the Postal Service. USPS said that any homes built beyond that number won’t get curbside delivery.
“We were going nowhere fast, and fortunately you came out and got some things moving,” said Frousaikis. “These boxes, they serve no purpose other than lawn ornaments. We'd appreciate your help if you could do something for us. We could definitely use it, we've been trying for a year as much as we can on our own, and at this point we could definitely use some help.”
Long trips just to get mail
Many residents say this has turned into a daily inconvenience. Some travel 25 minutes round-trip just to pick up and send their mail. One of those residents is Balpreet Grewal, who has lived in his house for a year, but never received mail at it.
“When you buy your house, you expect to get your mail at the mailbox that's put at your house,” said Grewal.
He says that it takes him 20 minutes just to walk to the cluster boxes near his home, and even then, it’s not always smooth.
“We have a lot of things coming in and out that could be time sensitive,” Grewal said.
For larger or signature-required packages, he still has to drive to a post office in Wellington.
Problems with the cluster boxes
Both Grewal and Frousaikis say the cluster boxes themselves are unreliable.
“When we get packages, sometimes the keys don't work, sometimes they put them in different boxes,” Frousaikis explained. “We had an incident where my wife was waiting for an important package for her work. It took two weeks to get it before they were able to locate it — it turns out it was in the cluster box the entire time but nobody knew where it was at. They couldn't find the keys, the keys didn't work properly. It's been a cluster, it certainly is a cluster.”
USPS says cluster boxes are “efficient.”
The Postal Service previously told WPTV:
“The Postal Service is proud to continue its vital role in today’s changing mail environment. We are directed by statute to provide reliable and efficient service. One way we do that is through use of centralized delivery, utilizing Cluster Box Units (CBU) as the preferred method of delivery, with rare exception, for all new residential and commercial developments.” Palm Beach County’s letter points out that:
“Residents in other parts of Palm Beach County and similar fast-growing communities across Florida may be experiencing a range of mail delivery challenges tied to development patterns, infrastructure gaps and new addresses not being recognized in postal or delivery databases — preventing carriers from completing deliveries.” Grewal sees this as an opportunity to cooperate: “However we can work together to resolve the issue that's best for everyone.”
Next steps
On May 18, Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter will host a “community outreach day” in Arden to connect directly with the hundreds of homeowners who’ve been impacted by this mail delivery issue.
For residents here, the goal is simple: curbside delivery to the boxes already sitting at their driveways.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
