Rex Tate of The Music Room believes he has made a sound move.

In a homecoming of sorts, Tate is relocating the business to 246 Broad St. from Second Avenue.

Besides the better visibility on Broad, his next-door and upstairs neighbors are the Rome Area Council for the Arts and the Rome Civic Ballet, respectively.

“It seemed like a natural place to be,” Tate said. He started renovations in February.

“We were not getting enough exposure” on Second Avenue, Tate said. “So we moved back to where the people are.

“Broad Street’s got a pretty strong future, I’ve heard. Things are going to pop pretty big down here soon. So we decided we’d try to get in on it.”

Tate said he’ll have additional space to expand his line of instruments.

The Music Room sells band and string instruments, digital pianos, including the Yamaha Clavinova, guitars and amplifiers and percussion instruments.

The Music Room started business on Broad Street in 1956 in the old Forrest Hotel building, Tate said. It later moved to 524 Broad — where Hairstory and other businesses now reside — before moving to Second Avenue.

When Second Avenue was widened in the early 2000s, The Music Room was demolished and relocated further off the avenue. That hurt business, Tate said.

Up the street at 524 Broad — The Music Room’s former location — styling salon Hairstory is expanding into a street-level shop in a formerly vacant suite at the same address. The space is currently being renovated.

Hairstory’s owner plans to offer a variety of products including clothing and jewelry, according to Alisha Gresham, front desk associate. The shop also wants to offer guitar lessons and classes on hair styling.

A name for the shop hasn’t been chosen.