Plant City’s newest auto parts store should open next month.
Signage and front glass are now installed at Plant City’s O’Reilly Auto Parts, 1704 James L. Redman Parkway. The retail shop sits adjacent to the new RaceTrac gas station, which opened in January.
Mark Merz, director of external reporting and investor relations for O’Reilly, said Plant City was a prime location for the company, which plans to open 190 stores throughout the nation this year.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to build a store, and it was a great market with a good population of vehicles,” Merz said. “We want to partner with the community and bring our business model to it.”
Furthermore, O’Reilly Auto Parts has filed plans to construct a new distribution center in neighboring Lakeland. With deliveries being made to its stores five nights a week, the retailer looks at where its distribution centers are along with trucking routes when planning a new store. Construction on the new distribution center off County Line Road should be finished by spring 2014.
That 350,000-square-foot complex is expected to bring between 300 and 400 new jobs. Each retail location employs about eight staff members, both part time and full time.
The new Plant City building still has to be outfitted with light fixtures, electrical wiring, phones, alarm systems and stocked with products.
An 80-year-old building was demolished at the beginning of the year to make way for the new O’Reilly retail store. Mac Smith sold the property to JB Realty Partners in December, for $675,000.
He also sold the neighboring RaceTrac property last summer and another nearby property to Ditch Witch.
Based in Springfield, Mo., O’Reilly Auto Parts is one of the top five auto parts retailers in the United States. Currently operating in 42 states, the publicly traded company has 24 distribution centers.
Merz said Florida is a major focus overall for the company’s expansion.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.