O’Reilly Auto Parts Gets OK For Prairie Grove Store

PRAIRIE GROVE — New businesses are slowly cropping up along U.S. Highway 62 or Heritage Parkway in Prairie Grove.

The latest coming to the highway will be O’Reilly Auto Parts store, which will be located next to Dollar General. A new Arvest Bank will open later this year on the other side of Dollar General.

Prairie Grove Planning Commission recently approved O’Reilly’s large scale development plan.

The 7,225-square-foot building does not have a physical address yet but its street name will be Heritage Parkway. The address will be assigned when the business applies for a building permit, according to Larry Oelrich, director of administrative services and public works.

According to plans submitted to the city, O’Reilly will have two access points, one from the highway and another through a connection with Dollar General’s parking lot.

A representative with Anderson Engineering of Springfield, Mo., represented the O’Reilly store at the planning commission meeting.

Oelrich said the commission exempted the business from installing sidewalks along Heritage Parkway because of the grade of the land and utility lines. The commission also exempted O’Reilly from landscape requirements on its frontage along the highway.

Oelrich said the city does not want trees along the highway for safety reasons.

The commission did not have any concerns about the large scale development plan, Oelrich said.

“They exceeded the parking requirements and met drainage requirements. They did a good job,” he added.

According to the O’Reilly website, the business started with a single store in Missouri in 1957 and now has more than 4,900 locations in 35 states and employs more than 75,000 team members.