Former Hecker car lot to get new life--as gun range
By next summer, the vacant former Denny Hecker dealership in Oak Park Heights near Stillwater will have a new tenant and a new use.
The Stillwater Gazette reports the city council there unanimously approved a site plan to allow the abandoned 56,000 square-foot facility to be modified to include two gun range areas, a small gym and lounge, retail space and a small cafe. It will be operated by Minnesota Outdoor Shooting Sports.
The facility will offer classes to the public and will cater to participants in shooting sports.
“It’s a family destination space,” Barry Schalkle, president of Minnesota Outdoor Shooting Sports, told the paper.
The space was formerly a Ford dealership operated by disgraced mogul Denny Hecker until his empire crumbled. Hecker is serving a 10-year sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
