O'Reilly Auto Parts Coming to Northfield

Northfield will soon have another auto parts store.

O'Reilly Auto Parts, a national chain of auto parts stores, plans to buy the property and building that formerly housed the , which is next to .

Kyle Snesrud, who owns the building, told Northfield Patch that he has a contract to sell it to O'Reilly and hopes to close the deal Jan. 16.

An O'Reilly representative confirmed the deal Friday, but was unable to comment further, including when the store might open.

Snesrud said he was told that O'Reilly will renovate the building instead of demolishing it and starting fresh.

"These guys are very systematic and organized in what they do and how they do it," Snesrud said. "I'm sure they are going to be very formidable competition in the market."

O'Reilly Auto Parts opened its first store in 1957 and now has more than 3,600 stores nationwide.

Northfield is already home to , and . There's also an O'Reilly Auto Parts in Faribault.

The building at 1000 Highway 3 S. has been vacant since May 31 when Jeff and Therese Smiens, then owners of , . They sold their business to Branko Lemko,  to Jefferson Square. Before the move, an athletic club had called the building home since 1980.

According to Rice County property records, the estimated market value of the building and property is $531,000, which it has been for the past five years. Also, according to county records, a permit was filed in 2010 for work on the roof.