Construction was approved this week for what appear to be the city’s first LA Fitness centers in Lakewood and Southside.
One would be developed in a former Publix Super Markets building and the other would be new construction at Atlantic and Kernan boulevards, plans show.
The LA Fitness website shows stores nationwide and in Canada. The 65 Florida locations are shown in the Orlando, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Naples-Fort Myers areas. The fitness club chain is based in Irvine, Calif.
Building permits and plans show that LA Fitness will take the former Publix space at University Center at University Boulevard West and St. Augustine Road in Lakewood.
The project also marks the redevelopment of the center at 3600 University Blvd. W., which saw its largest anchors, Publix and Stein Mart Inc., leave for nearby locations.
The City issued a building permit Wednesday for McCorkle Construction Co. to build out 40,000 square feet of space there at a cost of $2 million. A separate permit was issued Monday for interior demolition by Accurate Construction Corp. at a cost of $55,000.
On Tuesday, the City issued a per permit for Impact Construction Management LLC to build a 44,848-square-foot structure for LA Fitness at 11901 Atlantic Blvd. The club is planned near the Academy Sports & Outdoors along Atlantic Boulevard at Kernan Boulevard. The project cost of the building was $200,000.
The University Center is owned by University Center CRP LLC of Palm Beach Gardens. The ownership group also is renovating the center’s exterior.
The City issued a permit Monday for Accurate Construction Corp. to renovate the University Center façade at a project cost of $149,600. Plans show the scope of the work includes the renovation of the retail canopy.
Plans filed with the St. Johns River Water Management District indicate a Marshall’s store at the former Stein Mart, although a spokeswoman for the chain has had no comment.
In February, Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, which plans to develop the Parkway Shops next to its River City Marketplace retail center in North Jacksonville, announced it signed Marshalls and Dick’s Sporting Goods for the project.
L.A. Fitness International LLC was founded in 1984 in Southern California.
The Los Angeles times reported in December that LA Fitness, one of the largest gym chains in the country, bought 171 Bally Total Fitness clubs in 16 states, including more than a dozen in Florida, marking one of the biggest deals by a gym chain in recent years. The Times said the $153 million purchase boosted LA Fitness to more than 500 locations nationwide.
The newspaper said LA Fitness was private owned and Siedler Equity Partners, CIVC Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners own a majority of the company.
In 2010, LA Fitness generated around $1 billion in revenue, according to estimates by Club Industry, according to the Times.
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