OBSERVER file photo New businesses are lined up for the former Valu Home Center location.

The developers of the former Valu Home Center in Route 60 want a larger water line for the building.

“There is a new business going in (there,) O’Reilly Auto Parts,” Fredonia Department of Public Works Director Scott Marsh told the village Board of Trustees Wednesday. “They’re going to need a bigger water line going into there…I’ve been working with their engineers. It looks like they want to put a six-inch water main underneath Route 60. They’ve got to get some state permits, but I’ve reviewed everything looks good. So I’ll probably be seeking approval for that in the next week or so.”

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson asked why O’Reilly wanted a bigger line. “Fire protection, I believe,” Marsh said. He added that the building currently only has a ¾-inch water line.

“It’s no cost to us, everything’s on them,” Marsh added. “They just wanted permission to tie into our line.”

The OBSERVER reported in May that Venture Brokerage Group of Rochester is marketing the property. In addition to the O’Reilly store, businesses reportedly going in are OZone Smoke Shop, Firehouse Subs, and an unnamed liquor store.

The property was sold to RDC Fredonia, LLC of Jamestown in May for $1.3 million.

The Valu Home Center closed in 2022. It hosted temporary, Halloween-themed “pop-up” stores but was otherwise empty until contractors got in earlier this year.