A historic and longtime-vacant downtown Rochelle building will be seeing redevelopment over the next year.

The Rochelle City Council unanimously approved a tax-increment financing (TIF) redevelopment agreement with Down Range Properties, LLC for a renovation project at 422 Cherry Ave., on Oct. 13.

Down Range Properties is owned by Matt Gerard, who also owns local gun shop Down Range Firearms at 303 Cherry Ave. The $398,152 renovation project at 422 Cherry Ave. includes tuckpointing, doors, renovation of office and residential spaces, and a roof.

Gerard will receive a maximum of $199,076 in the agreement, 50% of the project. Upon the work’s completion, Gerard will receive a payment of $39,815.20 by each December from 2026-2030.

The 422 Cherry Ave. property has been vacant for 13 years. In a letter to city officials, Gerard said his plans for the building include transforming it into a “vibrant, multi-use facility that will directly contribute to the economic and cultural growth of the downtown district.”

Plans consist of residential units, tourism-oriented spaces, and multiple small business suites. TIF districts generate increment funding from property value increases within them, which can then be used to help fund renovation projects.

Gerard said Nov. 28 that the building will be called “The Echelon”, a unique project planned to breathe life into the 120-year old building that was previously the Savings & Loan building. Two apartments upstairs in the building are already occupied.

There will be two Airbnbs upstairs, with Rochelle themes. The main floor will be the new site of Down Range Firearms, with former bank vaults used to house firearms. Two professional suites will be available for operations such as podcasting. The basement space is being considered for a cigar lounge and “speakeasy”-type establishment, Gerard said.

“It will be themed after the Continental Hotel in the John Wick movies,” Gerard said. “That’s what the entire idea is for the building. There will be short-term rentals upstairs and monthly events and work to attract people from out of town. The staff will come in in suits and ties and we’ll have a sommelier and will do tours of the gun vault. It will be a tourist attraction to bring people to downtown Rochelle.”

Gerard said he wants to see the downtown business community return to the state it was in 10 years ago with filled and thriving storefronts. He believes the answer to that is attracting people from outside Rochelle, which is what he hopes The Echelon will do.

“We need to bring in people from out of town to sustain these businesses,” Gerard said. “This being a tourist draw would help with that and I want to bring other businesses in here to offer their services. I want this to grow and expand. I think the plan we have will bring people from outside Rochelle. People can come in and get the John Wick experience. We’ll tailor it to other movie themes as well.”

Gerard thanked the city council and the community for their support of the project so far. He said just about every part of the building needs work, which he hopes to complete entirely by the end of 2026.

The venture has brought Gerard out of his comfort zone. He’s worked as a firearms instructor for 10 years and opened his gun shop three years ago. Working with contractors and financing a large project has been new to him.

The project will also see a GoFundMe fundraiser likely started for it, in case more costly issues come up and to encourage community input and involvement. Interior work to bring revenue generation sooner will be done first, with outside work like the facade and roof being done starting in the summer.

“I want community opinion on what we do here,” Gerard said. “To be truly successful, a small business has to be built for the community you live in. A part of the GoFundMe will be people telling me what they want to see. If the GoFundMe gets rolling, I can start focusing on things that add to the beautification of the building.

“There are so many buildings downtown that have been renovated and cleaned up. We want to contribute to that. It’s a nonstop chase of getting financing done and getting cash together and getting the contractors to get the work done.”

Gerard said he’s most excited for the specialty event portion of the project. He wants to bring people to Rochelle and bring other local businesses to The Echelon to be a part of those events.

The historic building still features original tin ceilings and marble in its entryway. Gerard said he wants to clean up the original facade and entryway. During construction, he recently found documents from the 1910s and 1920s and donated them to the Flagg Township Museum.

“It’s a gorgeous, 120-year-old original historical component of Rochelle,” Gerard said. “It should be preserved and maintained and made into a vital space for people to come and visit. The community engagement and involvement and the support I’ve been getting from other businesses and contractors absolutely blows my mind. I couldn’t be happier about the project.”