OLEAN — A new auto parts store has been approved for West State Street.

The city of Olean planning board on Monday approved a site plan for O’Reilly Auto Parts LLC to build a 7,200-square-foot retail space in the front of the former Archbishop Walsh Academy campus.

During a public hearing held Monday, one resident was in attendance and asked about through traffic between the new store’s parking lot and the existing parking lots on the campus, concerned about extra traffic on North 24th Street. He also asked about lighting to be installed at the site and if it would impact neighbors.

“There won’t be any light trespassing off the property,” said Hayden Woods of Bohler Enterprises, the engineering firm representing O’Reilly for the project. He also noted that the parking lots will not be open between the store and the rest of the campus, and that a stormwater management system will be installed to handle rain and snowmelt runoff from the store.

Woods also explained that the store will have 38 parking spots, which will require a new curb cut, and the store will be set back about 50 feet from the road.

O’Reilly, founded in Missouri in 1957, has more than 6,400 locations in North America. The chain operates several stores in Erie and Chautauqua counties, including one in Springville.

Built in 1959, in February 2023 Southern Tier Catholic School officials announced the school’s lower grades would move from the campus to the former St. John’s School in North Olean at the start of the 2023-24 school year and high school instruction would end at that time. Buffalo-based Ellicott Development purchased the site in December 2023 for $200,000 after an auction as the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo reorganized under bankruptcy protection triggered by lawsuits over child sexual abuse allegations against priests.