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FedEx will convert its 4720 Eisenhower Ave. Ship Center to a FedEx Office storefront on June 29, the company told customers this week, ending the city's only dangerous-goods shipping and leaving the West End without a FedEx-operated counter.
The location is the only FedEx Ship Center in Alexandria, according to the company's location finder. After the conversion, the building will continue to accept drop-offs, package holds and pickups, FedEx said, but the format change will reshape what the location offers.
Two FedEx formats, two missions
FedEx Ship Centers are standalone shipping hubs built around the company's Express delivery arm, with later weekday cutoffs, Saturday hold service and specialized capabilities such as dangerous-goods handling. FedEx Office locations are retail print and copy shops that also handle shipping.
The Eisenhower Avenue Ship Center currently advertises 12 in-store services on FedEx's website, all shipping-focused: shipping labels, Express and Ground drop-off, hold-for-pickup with Saturday service, packaging supplies, international shipping, QR-code returns, return shipping and dangerous-goods shipping. The 150-pound maximum package weight will not change with the conversion.
After June 29, customers will gain a range of Office-specific services not currently offered at 4720. Based on the service list at FedEx's existing Alexandria Office locations, those include color and large-format printing, self-service copying, faxing and scanning, shredding, computer rental with free Wi-Fi, passport photos, direct mail, Amazon QR-code returns and dedicated packing services. The closest existing FedEx Office, at 2241 Eisenhower Ave. near the Eisenhower Avenue Metro, advertises 19 in-store services in total.
What disappears in the swap: dangerous-goods shipping, live-animal shipments and the city's latest weekday counter cutoff. The 4720 location currently closes at 8:30 p.m. weekdays — half an hour later than the next-latest staffed location and 90 minutes later than the closest FedEx Office. The converted Office will close at 7 p.m. weekdays, matching Alexandria's other FedEx Offices.
A West End service gap
The loss will hit hardest in the West End, west of I-395, where 4720 Eisenhower has anchored late-day shipping for residents, small businesses and contractors. Landmark, Eisenhower West and Cameron Station will keep just one staffed FedEx location after June 29: a third-party FedEx Authorized ShipCenter at 5145 Duke St. that does not ship dangerous goods.
Alexandria's two FedEx-operated Office locations — at 2241 Eisenhower Ave. and at 685 N. Washington St. in Old Town — both close at 7 p.m. weekdays, and neither accepts dangerous goods. A FedEx counter inside the Office Depot at 6211 N. Kings Hwy. closes at 8 p.m. After June 29, the latest cutoff in the city will belong to the Walgreens at 6717 Richmond Hwy., open until 11:59 p.m. for drop-offs and pickups only.
Part of a broader FedEx consolidation
The Eisenhower Avenue conversion comes amid FedEx's "Network 2.0" overhaul, a multiyear effort announced in April 2023 to merge the company's historically separate Express and Ground delivery networks. FedEx expects to close roughly 475 facilities — about 30% of its U.S. footprint — by the end of 2027, with $2 billion in projected annual savings, according to the company's February 2026 Investor Day. As the two networks merge, the standalone Ship Center format, built around the legacy Express network's later cutoffs and specialized handling, has been progressively wound down.
Job listings dated April 30 on FedEx's website for "Retail Customer Service Associate – FedEx Office" positions at 4720 Eisenhower suggest the building will reopen under the FedEx Office banner rather than close outright. FedEx did not immediately respond to a question about staffing and continuity of service at the location.
