Gun store eyeing Lombard location

A gun store with a shooting range is eyeing a Lombard location after scrapping plans for a Wood Dale site.

Lombard village board members are expected to take an initial vote Thursday, Oct. 2, on plans for a Gun World venue in 20,000 square feet at 355 Eisenhower Lane South. A second reading and final vote would be required at the following board meeting.

Gun World representatives withdrew plans in April for a similar venture in Wood Dale the day elected officials were set to vote on the proposal. The move came after some residents protested the proposed store's proximity to Wood Dale Junior High School. That site, less than half a mile from the school, was in an area that was zoned for adult business that could include massage parlors and adult book stores.

The proposed Lombard site is located in a manufacturing district off Finley Road, south of 22nd Street, surrounded by light industry offices, Lombard officials said. The nearest residences, Beacon Hill Retirement Community, are 800 feet from the property and Glenn Westlake Middle School and Etz Chaim Synagogue are each a mile away.

It would contain a 2,000-square-foot retail showroom with the remaining space devoted to a machine shop, repair shop, security and training classrooms, a virtual-reality training facility, locker rooms, storage area and shooting range with 30 firing positions. The range would contain safety baffles to prevent shooters from misfiring onto other stalls.

Any waste and spent lead will be recycled and HEPA air purifiers also will be provided. Twelve security cameras will monitor the property. Proposed hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

Transforming the vacant building will cost $1.3 million to $1.5 million, and the retail portion is expected to generate $750,000 in annual sales, the owners reported.

The village's plan commission recommended approval of use with some conditions, including soundproofing to ensure no gunfire noise be heard outside.

Gun World previously operated out of Bensenville for 30 years but closed to make way for O'Hare International Airport expansion.

The owners anticipate 60 percent of business will come from police officers and private security firms. The facility also would be available for any Olympic training functions that require a firing range.