Looking into opening a gun range in South Florida

I would like to have a 15 - 20 lanes. I don't want to make the stalls too small, but the number of warehouses that have the length to allow for 25 yards + shooting booth + walkway are not as plentiful. I would also like to keep the firing line in one direction to simplify the range backing and HVAC air movement. I think a good compromise would be about 18 lanes. I would probably split it up with either 8 and 10 lanes or maybe even 12 and 6 lanes. If it is 15 lanes, it will be 10 and 5. I think the split makes it much more convenient for other activities such as classes or competitions. We could also shut down one side when it is slow to save energy.

What do you guys think?
 
Clean restrooms, possibly a snack bar and area away from the noise where folks can take a break, maybe even small lockers that folks can either use or rent for a term - that way, if they want, they could leave some items there like ear and eye protection, targets, etc.
 
my input....

I read over your new topic & I have a few random points.

Do you have a business name yet? Also I saw a firm in the west coast that is looking for franchisees for a firearms range/simulation area for regular citizens.

I'm not sure of the name but its a interesting concept.
I'd only allow lead free or frangible type training rounds for the indoor ranges. It's less toxic and less wear & tear on the structure.
Lead and other pollutants can cause problems over time.
I'd have armed staff & security too. Armed robbers & a few sucides took.place at gun ranges in my area. A top security/CCTV system would be needed too.

ClydeFrog
 
@ ClydeFrog

We are still tossing around a few ideas for names. I will talk with my partner and see if he feel comfortable sharing them over the internet before trademarking them. I will look into the franchise concept, but I feel it will have little to offer since they are out in the West coast. What are they really providing other than their image. Their brand means nothing out here. I don't like the idea of paying a franchise fee and royalty to someone when we can do it ourselves. In fact, I am trying to develop something that is franchisable.

As for restricting patrons to lead free or fangible ammo only, I feel that it will severely hurt business. I know that it will be cheaper for us in terms of HVAC requirements and back stops, but frangible and lead free ammo isn't cheap or readily available. I believe that carry guns should be shot with carry ammo to ensure functionality. How would they do that in our range?

All ranges that I go to have armed staff. That is pretty much the norm and we plan on following that. We will have a CCTV system, but I know how to install that stuff myself. I have installed over 20 systems myself so that should be a breeze. We had a suicide at a range near me as well. You can have all the CCTV systems in the world and it will not make a difference. The sames goes for preventing murder/suicide which happened in Casselbery, FL. A mother shot her son in the back of the head and then turned the gun on herself.

I guess that is why you need a bulletproof (pun intended) waiver. There is always the possibility of individual lanes with individual entrances, with bullet proof barriers in between them, but that would take up a lot more room and cost a whole lot more.
 
CP-TED...

Those are valid points, I'd design a hard target or use what security experts & law enforcement call CP-TED(Cep-Ted) or crime prevention thru environmental design. Smash & grab plans and take-down style armed robberies are more common. Crooks steal a vehicle than ram it into a gun shop or range.
Reig's a training center, gun range and FFL holder/shop had a armed robbery where a armed mgr shot 3 violent thugs then about 2mo later the same location had a smash in theft late at night. This shop was in metro Orlando FL.

CF
ps: there are a few Florida based shooting sports firms; www.serbu.com www.magsafeonline.com Knight's Armament Corp(KAC).
I'd offer a 10% discount too for veterans, first responders, corrections, and maybe valid NRA members. ;)
 
... We are most probably looking to rent a building and convert it rather than building from scratch. ...
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Not to rain on your parade, but I would not be very interested in leasing one of my commercial buildings for a shooting range, for a couple of reasons.

First, the alterations to the building to accommodate this type of use would likely make the building unusable for anything else. A lessee would have to make some financial arrangement where I was assured beyond doubt that the cost of removing the equipment and restoring the building would not be on me.

Second, I wouldn't want to be left with a hazardous waste mess when the range goes belly up. A lessee would have to make some financial arrangement where I was assured beyond doubt that the cost of remediating lead and any other contaminants would not be on me.

That said, I'm also toying with the idea of dozing a dilapidated property I have and putting in an indoor range. Most of the owners I've talked to felt they needed a "pro" shop (gun sales and the like) to be profitable. They also looked to be using that prefab equipment in the link above.

It's a big investment, the returns on which look marginal, frankly, to me, particularly if you have to pay people to manage / run it. You have an advantage in being in a densely populated area. I don't do partners, so the risk of the whole thing would be on me.
 
Don't forget to include security costs, clean-up costs, depending on your county, there could be extra planning costs if you add a driveway or parking lot not currently there - new land don't forget to subtract for the DRA - that could mean 20% of the property; trash disposal/removal; recycling, repair costs for equipment damaged

If you are going to have classes, you should have a classroom
 
@ Win:

While I can certainly understand your concerns, the environmentals regs are pretty tough so I dont think it is as bad as you make it out to be. The bullets (lead) will be collected by the backstop. The HVAC has to bring in 100% fresh air and The exhaust air has to be filtered. The backstop, lanes, and target carriers can be ripped out as easily as they were installed. We are meeting with a consultant on Saturday to get more information.

We have been in talks with the owner of an industrial building already and he is okay with its use. He mentioned that it isn't his first choice, but he won't lease to another gym (2 gyms already closed down there). A good friend of mine is a real estate agent that specializes in commercial/industrial real estate. I told him to keep an eye out for us when we are ready.
 
BigDinFL said:
Don't forget to include security costs, clean-up costs, depending on your county, there could be extra planning costs if you add a driveway or parking lot not currently there - new land don't forget to subtract for the DRA - that could mean 20% of the property; trash disposal/removal; recycling, repair costs for equipment damaged

If you are going to have classes, you should have a classroom
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Security Costs: Range Officers and Manager on Duty will be openly carrying.

Clean-up Costs: I listed this as monthly maintenance. I'm sure I will need to hire a cleaning company for regular cleaning including the bathrooms, floors, etc.

Planning: This remains one of our biggest concerns. My partner has had preliminary discussions with the city, but the review process takes a lot of time. I spoke with the owner of the building and he understands. We are working out a timeline where the initial rents are lower and then ramp up once the range opens. If for some reason or other things do not get approved, all rent paid to that poin is forfeited but we are able to walk from the lease. Coincidentally, the building owner is a shooter and he is very good friends with my real estate agen friend. We also plan on approaching local police departments to offer use of the range since the three departments surrounding the property do not have their own range. That will probably help immensely.

Parking is a bit of a concern as the site we are looking at has limited parking. There are a lot of properties nearby that we could make arrangements with since they only operate during the day.

I'm not sure what DRA is but I'm going to guess it is some sort of impact fee. I'm not sure what kind of fee the city can tack on since we do not need to bring in any new utilities or infrastructure changes. Besides, the space was leased out to 2 gyms before that.

Trash removal is no big deal as we own commercial real estate and already deal with that.

Maintenance and repairs to equipment is also a pretty common thing. We plan on using a rail type target carrier system so it is much more durable.

Thanks for the feedback and ideas everyone! We are going to be visiting a couple of ranges this weekend to get some more ideas. I'll keep you guys posted!
 
DRA is a Drainage Retention Area - you know, those big open pits in prime real estate areas that become an open sewer with a heavy rain. IF you were going to build on raw land, that would become a consideration. The area allotted is based on a formula that takes into account the non-permeable footprint you intend to build - having big parking lots means a big DRA as the rain runoff has to go somewhere

By cleanup - I was thinking the daily cleanup of the range area where you might have lead dust on the floor, the components from spent primers, etc. You just don't have your high-school help take a broom and start sweeping
 
I'd be down with meeting up if you make a trip up here, I know good places to eat! :P Even though I'm usually broke and may need notice if you want to go shooting (duh, you would)

I believe they mostly make some of their profit from leasing to the gun shop on location, concealed carry classes, memberships and merchandise. They probably do have 10 lanes. Plus the gun rentals flexibility may make some money as well. They also made a turret out of 10/22's that I'm sure makes people run out of ammo quick.
 
My partner and I went to check out Nexus (a new "state of the art" range in Davie) this weekend but it wasn't open to the public yet. :-( We wanted to shoot so we went to Pembroke Gun and Range. The close at 6 pm on weekends. They say they are open late on weekdays so I don't believe it is a security concern. To me, it make absolutely no sense to close early on weekends, especially when other people were walking in and wanted to shoot. We went to Big Al's off of Hallandale Beach Blvd. They were open to 8 pm. I have no clue why people would not want to maximize hours of operations during the busiest times. While the pricing is cheaper, they are run down and they attract an unsavory crowd. The ranges are all shot up and there are bullet holes in the ceilings and stalls.

My partner will be attending a range convention in Utah in about 10 days. We will have a lot more info in a few weeks so we will have a lot more information! :-)
 
Lol. Oh Big Al's. gotta love them. I used to go there a lot. Bought my SIG P220 and Colt Series 70 from them. It's not their fault they're bullet holes all around. Have you seen the area they're in? It's a 45 minute drive for me. Haven't gone there much anymore.
 
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