Rapid City is poised for its first indoor shooting range.
A recent county commission decision allows a private developer to move forward with the project.
The Midwest Shooting Center will occupy more than 19,000 square feet of an existing commercial building.
The center plans to offer two shooting ranges with seven separate stalls for a maximum capacity of 14 shooters.
Other features include a viewing area, retail area, an event room, a member’s area, and a classroom for training.
Jessica Olson is the planning manager for Rapid City. She said safety was a primary concern when approving the range.
“More interior walls, that separate them from the other facility, there’s sound proofing, there is air quality aspects with the ventilation, and safety and security plans, stuff like that," said Olson. "We went through a conditional use permit process for this one because it’s within 250 feet of a religious facility. That brings it through the public process where we look at kind of a broader scale of, does it fit in the neighborhood, is it oriented in a way that is not going to negative impact the neighbors, and it gives the public an opportunity to voice their opinions as well.”
She said the city adopted the ordinance to allow an indoor shooting facility last year. This is the first developer to take advantage of the opportunity.
Darrell Shoemaker is the communications coordinator for Rapid City. He said the shooting range exemplifies the city’s focus on growth.
“This is no longer your parents’ Rapid City or your grandparents’ Rapid City. Former mayor Allender used to say if we didn’t evolve as a community, we would still have blacksmiths and liberty stables on the corner. So we evolve. That is what you are starting to see, is a whole different makeup of unique different kinds of business opportunities. So, that is behind the ordinance. Opening up opportunities and options for different types of businesses to come into the community,” said Shoemaker.
The proposed operation aims to be a full-service range including retail sales of firearms, ammunition, gunsmithing, and will host events.
The facility plans to include several security measures, including CCTV.
