NILES — Usually, a trap house is not a welcome addition to a downtown neighborhood. To many in Niles, it soon will be.

Trap House 24 is a 24-hour gym slated to open later this summer by owner Stephanie Reno. Trap House will be located at 127 E. Main St., the site of Reno’s other business, SLR Pilates.

The Pilates, barre and yoga studio will move to 219 E. Main St., the site where Signal Travel will be formerly located. Signal Travel, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has moved to a renovated 2540 S. 11th St. location.

After two years, Reno said the gym is close to completion.

The gym will feature a variety of equipment, from free weights to machines and both aerobic and anaerobic equipment.

“The main focus for us was to bring quality in a gym atmosphere the same as we have in our studio atmosphere,” she said. “When you walk into our studio, it’s beautiful. It’s more of something you’d walk into in a large city. That’s the same type of vibe and atmosphere we want for the gym.”

Reno said she wants to continue to provide great equipment and great customer service, just as SLR Pilates has.

“We’ve been here for five-and-half years now, and we have built a business within our community and outside of the community,” she said. “A lot of our clientele drive a long way to come here.”

The new SLR Pilates studio will add 7,000 square feet to its former 4,000-square-foot space. The ground floor of the recently acquired property will hold SLR’s typical exercise classes. The larger floor above features a large studio for sizable group sessions.

Trap House is not the only gym set to open in the coming months. FitStop, a Michiana chain of exercise facilities, is expected to enter the 410 N. 2nd St. address. Its former occupant, Save-a-Lot had its property damage a in a 2018 St. Joseph River flood.

The FitStop chain was recently bought by Eastlake Athletic Club, another area fitness center business. Despite multiple attempts, Eastlake could not be reached for comment.

Reno said competition between like businesses — in this case, just blocks away — is inevitable. She believes that her business is not like a franchise like Fit Stop.

“I think that when you’re opening a business, I think that when you’re doing it with passion and integrity, it goes a long way,” she said.

She compared the opening of SLR Pilates to the opening of Trap House. She said she brought a form of exercise relatively unknown to Niles residents. Yet, once members experience Pilates, they came back. Soon, the community began to know what the business was and its connectedness to the city.

She thinks Trap House will be the same: A leap of faith that will yield a great experience.

“We’re a big part of the community of Niles,” Reno said. “We have a large clientele base, and we’ve listened to them. They want more of what we offer.”

On an undetermined date this summer, Trap House will host a public grand opening, where memberships can be bought, to kick off its downtown presence.