DeWITT — The owner of Syracuse–based Metro Fitness Health Club had only intended to offer advice about a property in DeWitt. Then, his company ended up with a second location. In the middle of 2015, one of business owner Randy Sabourin’s personal-training clients asked him to meet with one of his business partners. “That’s when […]
DeWITT — The owner of Syracuse–based Metro Fitness Health Club had only intended to offer advice about a property in DeWitt. Then, his company ended up with a second location.
In the middle of 2015, one of business owner Randy Sabourin’s personal-training clients asked him to meet with one of his business partners.
“That’s when I was first introduced to the situation … with this facility,” says Sabourin, referring to 6800 East Genesee St. in DeWitt, the property across from the Wegmans location.
He spoke with CNYBJ on Jan. 14.
Several tenants had used the space, including Aspen Athletic Clubs and the Koinonia, Fayetteville Athletic Club, says Sabourin. He contends that most people remember the location as the Track & Racket / Fitness Forum Club.
Koinonia was serving as a temporary operator for the club, says Sabourin, but the property owners were not willing to make necessary repairs until they had a signed lease and a “significant” tenant.
Despite his initial intent to offer just his personal-training services at the Koinonia club, it became evident the property owners had another outcome in mind.
“Basically it came to what’s it going to take to get Metro Fitness in and operating this club,” Sabourin recalled in describing how his firm became a tenant in the building.
Metro Fitness East is operating under a five-year lease. The website of the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services lists 6800 East Genesee St., LLC as the entity that owns the property.
“I am proud and excited to announce that the lease is official, and the high quality of service and programs that have been a part of the history going back to the former Track & Racket/Fitness Forum will be revitalized and thrive to a new level,” Tom Kennedy, one of the principal owners of 6800 East Genesee St., said in a Jan. 5 Metro Fitness news release.
“I understand and connect with the nostalgic history [of this location] going back to when it was Track & Racquet / Fitness Forum. My mission is to re-establish that,” says Sabourin.
New life
Metro Fitness on Dec. 15 started operating in the space that Koinonia, Fayetteville Athletic Club previously occupied. Koinonia has moved to a different space in the same building, according to its Facebook page.
Koinonia operates a juice bar in the building, which Sabourin called a “great amenity” for people using his health club.
The company is calling its new 24,000-square-foot location Metro Fitness East. Metro Fitness also has a 13,000-square-foot location at 205 S. Salina St. in downtown Syracuse.
The DeWitt location is undergoing renovation work.
Edgewater Management Co., Inc. is handling the renovation work on the space. Macknight Architects is doing the design work on the space’s reception area.
Crews have sanded and refinished the studio floor and also repaired the steam room and ceiling.
In that space, Metro Fitness inherited equipment that was broken and “not worth salvaging” and other pieces that needed repair, says Sabourin.
Metro Fitness also had Syracuse Fitness Store assess all the equipment.
“We worked out a budget for the repairs and they shipped the largest shipment of parts across [the] country [that] they’ve ever shipped,” he says.
Metro Fitness East isn’t the only business operating in its space. Onondaga Physical Therapy has a 2,000-square-foot office in Metro Fitness’s location but operates under a separate lease agreement, says Sabourin.
Metro Fitness secured a $50,000 business loan from M&T Bank to open the new location. The company used $15,000 to purchase new equipment for the location, says Sabourin.
About Metro Fitness
Launched in 1995, Metro Fitness currently employs about 40 people in a mix of full- and part-time capacities.
The employee breakdown includes 15 trainers and instructors and seven clerical workers at the downtown Syracuse location, along with 11 trainers and instructors, six clerical workers, and one custodian at the DeWitt location, according to Sabourin.
Metro Fitness has 700 members in its Syracuse location. It opened with 300 in its first month at the DeWitt location, but Sabourin anticipates adding another 100 members by February.
Sabourin didn’t provide a specific figure but noted the company’s gross revenue in 2015 increased by $100,000 over its 2014 results.
Metro Fitness East is open from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to its release.
The company has a grand-opening event scheduled for Jan. 29.