Mystery Behind Lakeland Post Office Property Leads to Prominent Real Estate Family
By Carol A. Gasser Moore
LAKELAND, Lanier County, Georgia – Passing the Lakeland Post Office building at 15 South Valdosta Road might seem like just another federal facility serving a suburban community, but beneath its routine exterior lies a mystery tied to one of the area’s most discreet — and intriguing — property holders.
The mystery results largely from the daily absence of the Lakeland Post Office’s quiet activity hum. Hurricane Helene visited on September 27, 2024 and its’ effects on the Lakeland Post Office has been noticed! It is most notable to those residents in the northern, western and eastern portions of the county since they are now traveling further to pick up their mail from the “temporary” relocation to the Naylor Post Office which lies at the southern-most tip of Lanier County.
Public records reveal that the land housing the Lakeland Post Office has been owned since 1962 by Valley Realty Company, a private firm controlled by the Magdovitz family — a name unfamiliar to most residents, but prominent in elite real estate, insurance, and climate risk circles.
Valley Realty’s corporate filings trace back to Lawrence M. Magdovitz, a figure known more for his behind-the-scenes involvement in real estate than public appearances. His affiliation with HSC Property Management has helped the family maintain a low-key, but steady presence in regional property holdings.
The Magdovitz family operates Harrimack, LLC, a commercial property management company based at 1005 Cordova Station Avenue in Cordova, TN. Harrimack manages properties for the family’s real estate interests, including tenants like the U.S. Postal Service and Dollar General.
Valley Realty Company shares the 1005 Cordova Station Avenue, Cordova, TN address. At this time Valley Realty Company is not listed in the Georgia or Tennessee Secretary of State registration. However, it is listed in the State of Mississippi.
This address is also associated with the Law Office of Lawrence Magdovitz, suggesting a centralized location for the family’s business operations.
The intrigue deepens with Beth Ann Magdovitz, a Penn State University graduate who holds a degree in Meteorology with a focus on Weather Risk Management — an unusual, but strikingly relevant academic path given her impressive and highly specialized career trajectory.
Beth Ann has served as a real estate managing director and senior broker at Guy Carpenter, a top-tier reinsurance intermediary. Her portfolio includes catastrophe modeling, property treaty underwriting, and strategic disaster forecasting. Earlier roles placed her at the heart of global energy markets as a meteorology analyst on a trading desk and a climate risk researcher for institutional clients. Her knowledge of how weather patterns intersect with real estate valuation and insurance strategy has earned her a quiet but powerful reputation in both industries.
Though the Lakeland Post Office may seem like an odd centerpiece for a family with such technical and financial expertise, some speculate that the property’s steady income, prime location, and federal tenant make it a tactical long-term asset. Others whisper about whether Beth Ann’s weather risk insights influence family investment strategy — identifying safe, high-yield properties with minimal exposure to catastrophe risk.
Neither Beth Ann nor Lawrence Magdovitz have made public statements about the property, and Valley Realty Company maintains no public-facing operations. But in a time of growing concern over climate change, rising insurance costs, and real estate volatility, the quiet ownership of such a stable asset by a family of catastrophe specialists raises more than a few eyebrows.
The intrigue grows since the Lakeland Post Office remains closed for over six months. At the April 2025 Lanier County Board of Commissioners meeting, County Administrator Neil Ginty announced that the post office building owner has 270 days to make needed repairs and reopen the post office on South Valdosta Road. A ‘rule’ that the Lanier County News has not been able to verify.
Lakeland Mayor Bill Darsey spoke openly at the Lakeland City Council April Meeting that no one had obtained a permit from the City of Lakeland in order to repair the post office building. He also stated that the family who owned the building did not know about the hurricane for at least thirty (30) days.
Former Lanier County Code Enforcement Officer James Barnes stated at the April BOC meeting that any repair work done without a permit would have to be redone in order to be permitted.
As Lakeland continues to grow its concern over the fate of the Lakeland Post Office, and as climate and economic uncertainty shake traditional investments, the Magdovitz family’s early and enduring hold on a seemingly unremarkable piece of property looks less like coincidence — and more like strategy. What is their strategy?
It sure would be nice to have our local post office reopen. Surely 6 months has been ample time for bureaucratic nonsense to be over with. Make necessary repairs, clean out the mold, bleach everything, install new equipment and HVAC system and unlock the doors. Maybe DOGE can get it done!
Have you contacted DOGE? I agree with you! Troubling is that the background of at least one of the family members that owns the property is insurance and weather related recovery, so it appears that there is at least one person who has better than average knowledge about repair issues. While Mayor Darsey stated that the family didn’t know their property had been damaged for at least a month after the hurricane, it’s hard to imagine. They are in the property management business. Grant you they are said to own about 900 buildings leased to post offices – a lot by any standard – they’re in the business of owning, leasing and caretaking of all of those properties. It has also been difficult to contact the USPS which should have alerted the owner immediately since decisions about damage were immediately known to the point that the USPS immediately moved Lakeland operations to the Naylor post office. So this is where the information gets murky and confusing. Personally, I struggle with what seems like the ‘passing the buck’ approach (my opinion) as this outsider of USPS operations and building management approach by just the timing of it all … seems to be an adequate description of no information and continued closure of Lakeland PO and the overload of Lakeland PO operations on our Naylor PO location!
After having the opportunity to speak with interested Lanier citizen Phillip Connell the other evening, I hope and pray that he discovers an angle to expedite the Lakeland PO re-opening that has not been apparent or available to the rest of us!
There’s vacate business properties, an elementary school, a furniture store, and on Main St.,
all within a half mile to mile of the Post Office that could work as a reply location for Lanier County ‘s citizens. Someone in this county government should take responsibility for helping to facilitate intercede this need for the county, step up and work on our behalf.
I absolutely hear you and agree! May I suggest that you express your opinion directly to your city council representative and your county board of commissioners representative.