Auto parts firm coming to Cape Capaha Center

Tom Kelsey's job just got a whole lot easier.

Just weeks ago, his brokerage firm, Lorimont Place Ltd., was faced with the task of leasing several individual office spaces in the 12,000-square-foot former Freedom Rock building at Kingshighway and Broadway. But through a sudden change in plans and a couple of months of negotiations, he has found a single-occupant solution that will also bring a burgeoning regional retailer to Cape Girardeau.

Already with 1,170 stores spread out over 18 states, O'Reilly Automotive Inc. has confirmed that it will be locating a new auto parts store in the old Freedom Rock building at 370 N. Kingshighway.

"We have chosen Cape Girardeau based on extensive market research," said O'Reilly investor relations coordinator Michele Richardson. She added that the city's need for such a store, combined with customer requests, contributed to the decision.

Based in Springfield, Mo., O'Reilly already has 137 stores in Missouri, including Sikeston, Dexter, Kennett, Malden and Poplar Bluff. The company deals with both professional installers and the do-it-yourselfer in providing brand name auto parts. The 47-year-old company is one of the top five auto parts chains in the country and is projecting $1.7 billion in total sales for 2004.

O'Reilly stores typically employ 12 to 15 people.

Richardson said the targeted opening date for the Cape Girardeau location is December.

Whatever impact O'Reilly may have on the area, the company is not the reason for all the orange fencing and demolition going on at that intersection. In fact, O'Reilly is the beneficiary of an unexpected chain of events for the proposed Capaha Center.

Kelsey announced in April that the old Freedom Rock building had been bought by Capaha Bank and would house a new branch bank. The adjacent building to the north of that facility, which formerly housed Super D Drugs and Rent One, was to have been the 11,500 square feet of office space that Kelsey was charged to lease. Together, the two would form Capaha Center.

However, Kelsey said that as construction crews got further into the north building, serious structural problems became evident. So the building was demolished and the bank decided to build a brand new branch facility closer to the corner of Broadway and Kingshighway. That left the Freedom Rock building open for O'Reilly, which had been looking for Cape Girardeau locations for almost two months.

Now the auto parts retail store and the new bank will form the new Capaha Center when all construction is complete. Kelsey estimated that to be within the next six months.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137