AURORA - Aurora may take on a new look in the not-too-distant future.

Architectural plans for the demolition of the existing post office - to make way for a parking lot - were brought before the Aurora village planning board Wednesday evening.

“The project would create more parking spaces,” said JoAnne Gagliano, landscape architect for EDR Architects of Syracuse. “With one less commercial building in that area, there would be less of a demand for those parking spaces.”

Gagliano said a count of how many cars could comfortably fit into the existing parking lot is 26. The proposal would bring it to 33.

“The parking spaces would be designed per code of 10 by 20 feet spacing per car,” she said. “The lot would be standard two-way traffic that is available in any grocery or business parking lot.”

According to the plans, the current post office would be demolished and relocated to its former residence in the Heary building.

The Aurora Foundation's lawyer, Wendy Marsh, said that preliminary meetings with the U.S. Postal Service has brought them to the planning board.

“If approval is set in place we could put a little pressure on the federal government to relocate into the Heary building,” she said.

Gagliano said the parking lot would make easier access for delivery trucks of all sizes to both the post office, as well as the Aurora Inn.

The placement of the loading dock that would be added to the rear of the Heary building would allow for deliveries to the post office, and yet still leave plenty of room for patrons.

In addition to the added parking spaces, handicapped parking spaces would be added both in the new parking lot, as well as on the road in front of the post office.

The architectural plans include a green space by the road.

“The way that the land is sloped would cause the greens at the road to be at a higher elevation than the parking lot,” Gagliano said. “From the road one would not see the asphalt parking lot when there are not any cars in it, and when cars are parked in the parking lot, they would not be seen as well. This sloping would give better views of the lake from Route 90.”

In addition to the parking lot, the Heary building would undergo minor changes to better accommodate the post office.

The addition of the loading dock at the side of the building would be erected in the same spot where a structure once stood, and a retaining wall with iron style fencing would be erected at the rear of the building.

Existing wires that currently run in the air would be placed underground.

The project would last three to four weeks, Gagliano said, and the post office would remain fully accessible throughout construction.