City officials in Rochelle are moving forward in the renovation project dealing with the Hub Theater and the building in the 400 block of 4th Avenue in the downtown area.
Mike McCarty, who grew up in Rochelle and currently lives in Florida, wants to redevelop the Hub Theater as a performing arts center and renovate the building in the 400 block of 4th Avenue. The 1st floor would be for restaurants while the 2nd floor would have offices and the 3rd floor for MTI Corporations, McCarty's company. They plan to have around 50 employees with an average yearly salary of around $50,000.
The council voted 4-3 last night in an initial payment of $250,000 into escrow used to purchase the 2 buildings. They would be refunded if MTI does not close by July 31st.
The city also plans to have this area as a TIF district and their reimbursement to MTI will not exceed 1 million dollars.
Voting against the motion were Councilmen Dan and Tom McDermott along with Don Burke.
McCarty said he is excited about the project for the downtown area. The Hub Theater would include live entertainment along with a screen to watch movies.
McCarty plans to spend 1.8 million dollars on the Hub Theater and 2 million dollars for the 4th Avenue Building. The completion date is expected to be June of 2017.
The TIF district could be established as early as November of this year.