Clik here to view.
Planet Fitness Ann Arbor manager Megan Chichila and franchise owner Jim Matthew inside the new gym on West Stadium Boulevard.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The 26,000-square-foot gym at 2350 W. Stadium Blvd., which opened on May 7, has 1,500 members and Matthew said that number is growing daily.
“Ann Arbor has always been a progressive, health-minded city,” he said. “It works to have Planet Fitness in Ann Arbor with that mindset.”
Matthew and his business partner, Dennis Backos, own five Planet Fitness franchises in Michigan. After searching for an Ann Arbor location for two years, they purchased the former Hollywood Video building on West Stadium for $2 million, city records show.
Clik here to view.
The cardio area at Planet Fitness in Ann Arbor, which has 126 machines.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Matthew said the search for Ann Arbor real estate took a couple years because the gym needs an accessible location and one that's affordable.
Memberships at Planet Fitness cost $10 per month with a $29 annual fee, or $19.99 per month with a $39 annual fee for the “Black Card” membership, which includes unlimited tanning, use of HydroMassage beds and other perks. Free fitness training is included with the memberships.
“We’re hoping to get people introduced to fitness,” Matthew said.
The space on West Stadium Boulevard underwent extensive renovations, which involved gutting it and connecting two buildings. There are 126 cardio fitness machines, weight machines, free weights, 22 flat-screen televisions, and locker rooms with showers. The wide-open gym has designated areas for cardio, weights, circuits and abs.
Based in New Hampshire, Planet Fitness is a franchise chain of fitness centers with more than 600 locations. The company’s website says the gyms are a “Judgment Free Zone” where members can “relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.”
There are 30 Planet Fitness centers in Michigan, including one in the Washtenaw Fountain Plaza at 2748 Washtenaw Ave. Matthew and Backos don’t own that location.
Planet Fitness is open for 24 hours from Monday at 5 a.m. through Friday at 9 p.m., and it’s open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
