Nations ALrgest indoor gunrange coming to RVA!

[scarbrough68289 76]

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/news/2011/aug/12/tdbiz01-indoor-shooting-range-planned-for-henrico--ar-1233430/

 

 

http://www.wric.com/global/Category.asp?c=190525&clipId=6143893&topVideoCatNo=92150&autoStart=true

 

Indoor shooting range planned for Henrico County

 

Realtor Courtland Spotts was astounded two years ago when he saw an upscale indoor shooting range in Scottsdale, Ariz.

 

"Once I walked through the doors, I knew this would be something great for Richmond," said Spotts, the principal in the Spotts and Carneal real estate firm.

 

"It was an eye-opener for me. … I knew this could work here and there was a huge need for something like this in Richmond."

 

Spotts is moving forward with plans to put a 50-lane indoor shooting range in the former Colony House Furniture building at 6020 W. Broad St. in Henrico County. The building is between Libbie Avenue and Horsepen Road.

 

Construction on the $11 million project — he says it will be one of the largest indoor facilities in the country — should begin in the next couple of weeks. The Colonial Shooting Academy should open in February.

 

"I always have tried to do something really nice and positive for the community, and I think this will be it," said Spotts, the academy's managing partner and investor along with Edward T. Lacy of Phillips-Hall Inc. real estate firm.

 

Colonial Shooting Academy will be on three inside levels with 39 shooting lanes or stations for its members and the general public. Most of the lanes will be 25 yards long.

 

An additional 11 lanes will be for law-enforcement training and use.

 

"Our primary emphasis for the facility is on safety, education, training, and recreation," said Ed Coleman, the academy's general manager, who said he has been president or executive director of the Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club in Hanover County for more than 20 years.

 

"We are going to teach a lot of classes in basic firearms safety and fundamentals," Coleman said, adding that all members and customers will be required to take a safety course.

 

Basic membership in the Colonial Shooting Academy likely will be $100 upfront and $35 a month, he said. Fees for the general public should be $20 an hour.

 

The academy expects to hire a couple of dozen people.

 

"We feel like we are filling a big need in the community," Coleman said. "There are not enough places for people to shoot safely in a nice environment."

 

The Richmond area has two indoor ranges — the Dominion Shooting Range off Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County, and The Smoking Gun range in Colonial Heights. The region also has several outdoor ranges including Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club and Black Creek Public Shooting Range, both in Hanover.

 

Coleman and Spotts traveled across the country looking at shooting ranges "with the intention of opening the best indoor range in the country," Spotts said.

 

The 60,000-square-foot building housed Colony House Furniture from 1965 until the store closed in 2007. Spotts, Lacy and two other area real estate agents bought the building through the Broad Street Colony LLC entity.

 

The building will remain as is, but the interior will be changed, Coleman said. It also will get an exterior facelift and additional parking.

 

Henrico's Planning Commission approved a plan of development for the project last month. The land was already zoned for business uses, including shooting ranges.

 

"They are doing some nice upgrades to the building," said R. Joseph Emerson, the county's planning director. "This is a great reuse of the building."

Edited August 15, 2011 by xxINFIDELxx

[stimpy32 0]

I have been to it and seen the construction, it is going to be a big big place, not sure I can afford thier membership prices though.

[TonyRumore 1,332]

I wouldn't get too excited until you see their rule book listing all the things you can't do.

 

Hopefully, they will set it up like The Firing Line indoor range in Wyondotte, Oklahoma. You can fire anything you want, full auto, up to 50BMG. Just no 20mm.

 

Tony