Development Concept:
The Chicago Armory will be a “State of the Art” Gun Range and Retail Gun Room on a commercially zoned lots fronting on Route 31 in Carpentersville, Illinois. The project has been designed and priced out for budget purposes by a local design/build architect. A nationally recognized range development consultant, having done over 280 ranges, led the range design team to insure the facility will have the most technically advanced ranges in the Chicago Area.
The facility will be built with investment grade precast concrete panel construction, fully sprinklered and will feature a 22’ clear height ceiling with skylights in the 5,000 SF retail area. The gun ranges are the most advanced part of the facility. Each of the ranges; the 50 yard rifle range, the 25 yard pistol range, and the VIP/Combat Range has the most sophisticated design elements of proprietary monorail target systems of Patriot Range Technologies, computer controlled lighting systems, highly advanced, energy efficient HVAC system (at a cost of over $600,000) and shooting positions with open visibility glass partitions.
The Rifle Range will permit up to 50 caliber high power rifles and will offer Class III automatic firearms that will be available for rent.
The VIP/Combat Range has 3 direction firing with computer controlled lighting and multiple target rails. No facility in the Chicago area has these features and will be a destination for all serious shooters including area law enforcement personnel.
Project Specifications:
A 22,975 SF precast concrete panel Gun Range and Retail Gun Facility on 1.97 Acres on Lot 1 (plus Lot 14 for expansion parking) in the Spring Hill Center for Commerce & Industry Subdivision, Carpentersville, Illinois. The building features (3) “State of the Art” Gun Ranges (50 yd rifle, 25 yd Pistol & 2,000SF VIP /Combat Range), 5,400 SF Retail Area, 625 SF Class Room. 600 SF Club Room, Gunsmith Shop with Vault Storage, 220 SF office, 525 SF shipping and receiving area and 3,500 SF Mezzanine Area for HVAC Equipment (for the ranges) and storage area for retail operations. Site has irrigated landscaping with rain harvest system, parking for 75 cars, concrete aprons and curbs, ground level loading dock, architectural exterior lighting, building mounted signage, fenced concrete refuse area, 1,000 SF stamped concrete patio with 35’ reproduction Vietnam Wall War Memorial. Ground breaking is planned for 2010,
with completion in 6-8 months.
Location:
Project will be sited on Lot 1 & Lot 14 for expansion parking in the Spring Hill Center for Commerce & Industry Subdivision in Carpentersville, Illinois. The Park was developed in the mid 90’s by Carl Swanson and his brother and is home to various companies occupying over 323,200 SF of buildings. Lots 1 & 14 are zoned C-2 (General Commercial District) which has permitted uses that allows the ranges and retail gun sales. Lots 1 & 14 have excellent visibility each having over 400’ of frontage on Route 31 and featuring a traffic count of approximately 20,000 vehicles per day.
The park is surrounded by 3 forest preserves. The Brunner Farm property to the north, consisting of 571 acres was recently purchased by the Kane County Forest Preserve. Kane County has approved a corridor through the Brunner Property for a new bridge over the Fox River called Longmeadow Parkway, approximately 1 ½ mile north of the Park.
Project Team:
Carl Swanson, Commercial Property Associates, Inc.: Developer, Project Manager, General Partner
Ted Eckhardt, CD Group; Architect
Tom Corcoran, Patriot Range Technologies: Range Consultant and Supplier
Ron Adams, Pearson, Brown & Associates: Civil Engineer
Don Olsen, Service Mechanical Industries; HVAC Engineering
Village Development Incentive:
The Village of Carpentersville is very open to assist any new development in the Village. When we developed Spring Hill Center for Commerce & Industry we negotiated and received a TIF designation for the Park. The “TIF” is a Tax Increment Finance assistance structure where the increased real estate taxes are used to pay specific obligations. In our case, the obligation was to reimburse us for $1 million of park development costs such as mass grading, street improvements, utilities, etc. We have been fully paid, however, the TIF is still active. Currently the TIF collects approximately $300,000 per year. I have discussed and suggested to the Village Board, special incentives would be very helpful to secure financing for the project. I anticipate requesting approval for: a) reimbursement for all Village fees and Kane County Highway Impact fees; estimated to be about $75,000 or more. b) a refund of 50% of the retail sales taxes the Village would receive over the first 5 years of the project’s operations. Assume an average of $10 million per year over 5 years is $50 million, times 1.5% is $750,000. Therefore, 50% is $375,000 or an average of $75,000 per year. In total, the Village should be willing to support this project with about $450,000 in incentives.
