Photo of Crossroads Center by Wes Schmidgall.

NORMAL — Later this year, the Town of Normal’s first-ever indoor gun range is expected to open at the Crossroads Center.

Stephen Stewart, owner of 10-8 Outfitters, a gun dealer and public safety retailer in Bloomington, plans to move, rename and expand his business to a building within the Crossroads Center, 464 Wylie Dr., Normal, pending the Town of Normal’s approval of a special-use permit. 

At the request of Stewart, the Normal City Council unanimously approved amending the town’s zoning code to allow indoor gun ranges in general business or manufacturing zones, last week.

“He’s (Stewart) the one that actually came to us and asked if he could do such a business in town and we told him that we need to amend the code first,” said Normal Town Planner Mercy Davison. “We just got done amending the code. The code was changed to special-use and he applied to get a special-use permit. It has to go to the zoning board and back to the town council to be approved.”

The Normal Zoning Board will vote on the special-use permit during a July 18 meeting. If the zoning board approves the special-use permit, the Normal City Council will vote on it during an August 5 meeting.

If the Normal City Council approves the special-use permit, Stewart would open an indoor gun range in a 26,000 square-foot, Crossroads Center building that has been vacant since 2005.

The indoor gun range would include 15 firing ranges.

“It (indoor gun range) will be designed by a licensed engineering firm that does approved gun ranges,” said Davison. “The ventilation system will be stamped by a professional engineer/architect. There will be video surveillance, which is required by code and they have to show us construction plans that show us that the bullets will be fully contained in the building.”

Stewart plans to relocate his 10-8 Outfitters business that is located at 1206 S. Towanda Ave., Bloomington, to the Crossroads Center building. He also plans to rename his business “C.I. Shooting Sports.”

“We actually are going to be changing the name of the business,” said Stewart. “We’re going to be moving to a more recognized name to ‘C.I. Shooting Sports,’ which is Central Illinois Shooting Sports.

“We’ll have an extensive retail showroom where we’ll sell firearms. You’ll also be able to rent firearms to shoot on our range, and that’s mostly done for people who are interested in determining which gun is best for them, so they’ll be able to rent before they buy. We’ll have new lines of adventure-style clothing for law enforcement and the general public. We’ll also have extensive training as well. We’ll offer training course for concealed carry and personal protection as well.”

The rates for the indoor gun range have not yet been determined, but Stewart says “they’ll be competitive with the area and the state.”

 Stewart said his decision to open an indoor gun range had nothing to do with the concealed carry bill that is expected to be signed into law and allow Illinois residents to carry concealed firearms in public.

“We’ve planned this for many years,” said Stewart. “It finally took finding the right building and we think we found that out there. The great thing about the location is that it’s easy access for our customers. It’s right off Wylie Drive. It has great access to the interstate, yet it’s away from schools and residential areas. There’s no residential development around there within a pretty good distance, so for us it’s a fantastic location.”

According to Normal Councilman Jeff Fritzen, the city won’t grant special-use permits for indoor gun ranges to businesses located in residential areas.

“The use would never be allowed in a residential area,” said Fritzen. “It will only be allowed in manufacturing and business zoned areas. (Special-use permit applicants) would have to go through a public hearing before the Planning Commission and the Council, during which additional restrictions or conditions could be placed upon the proposed business.”

Stewart plans to open C.I. Shooting Sports “towards the end of the year.” 

Currently, 10-8 Outfitters employs four people. C.I. Shooting Sports will employ an additional 16 people, said Stewart.

“We hope to open in the neighborhood of 20 jobs, 20 positions in the store for employment, so it should be a great opportunity for the City of Normal, as well as us,” said Stewart.