Friday, April 7, 2023

[UPDATE] Former Athletic Club Northeast to be Reopened

ToNeTo Atlanta reported in January on the closure of Athletic Club Northeast (1515 Sheridan Road) after more than four decades in business.  The facility's closure came as a surprise to many longtime members left scrambling for a new gym.  We and others in the community had speculated the property was likely to be the target of redevelopment.    

Today, a little more than two months after the closure, Life Time announced it has entered into a new "extended long-term lease" with The RMR Group, the property's owner, with plans to reopen the facility as a "Life Time country club" in the coming months. (At the same time, Life Time also announced it will renovate and reopen Harbour Island Athletic Club in Tampa, Florida as a Life Time club, too.) 

Life Time (NYSE: LTH), based in Chanhassen, Minnesota,  entered the Atlanta market in 2006 with a club in Alpharetta.  The company has since expanded to Woodstock, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, Sugarloaf and Peachtree Corners.  This past December, the company opened one of its largest, nicest, and most expensive clubs in the country at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.  The new 115,000 square foot club spans five stories and includes a myriad of fitness options as well as a rooftop pool.  The Buckhead club also features a separate Life Time Work, a co-working concept the company recently introduced with an Atlanta area location adjacent to the company's Sandy Springs club at The Prado on Roswell Road.  

The RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR), a Newton, Massachusetts-based "alternative asset management company," also owns the Life Time facility in Alpharetta on North Point Parkway.  

Unlike rival fitness facility operator LA Fitness which often utilizes existing spaces or converts other gyms, Life Time typically builds their own locations.  Athletic Club Northeast and its 70s era building will surely present some challenges and perhaps opportunities for the premium club operator.  

In a release announcing the transaction, the company did not shed light on just how long of a renovation residents can expect or when a wait list may open or pre-sales will occur.  

Are you excited for the opening of the new Life Time?  If you were displaced by the closure of Athletic Club Northeast, have you found a new club?  Are you pleased to see a club reopening at the property versus it being redeveloped? 

Please share your thoughts below.  

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Membership costs are out of reach for those that aren't super wealthy.

Anonymous said...

As a former ACNE member, I am thrilled to hear this! Can’t wait until it opens!

Anonymous said...

I’m super excited. I believe Lifetime management will be worth the cost.

Anonymous said...

I am one of the original members, dating back 45 years. So disappointed when it closed. The location is terrific for me so I will rejoin when it reopens under a new name and ownership. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Anonymous said...

Pleased! Member since 1994. Fitness is worth the cost. Other clubs inadequate or too far away.

Anonymous said...

Will the instructors who lost their jobs be given opportunities to come back?

Anonymous said...

Will all the instructors who lost their multi-decade jobs with just 2-weeks notice be given the opportunity to come back?

Anonymous said...

Excited to see this club becoming a Lifetime facility!

Anonymous said...

I hope so! I am one of those instructors, and taught there for nearly 14 years.

Anonymous said...

This is great news for all us former ACNE members! Hoping that the venture works and will be affordable. Best wishes to those who are promoting this!

Anonymous said...

That is surprising news. Glad it will continue as a Fitness Center even if it is a very high priced facility.

Anonymous said...

Please put a LifeTime in Decatur next 🙏🏻

Anonymous said...

Great news! I loved ACNE and am so happy Lifetime has taken over. It will be a little more spendy, but worth every penny!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if they will hire past employees.

Anonymous said...

I was a member at ACNE for 25 years and was very disappointed in the way that it closed only giving 2 weeks notice. I will be happy to come back to the newly renovated club.

Anonymous said...

I hope we do. I was an ACN instructor for over 24 years. I live near the location and would love to be teaching there again!

Anonymous said...

Another former ACN member here, 16 years. I’m excited and hopeful about this development.

Anonymous said...

Will the staff insist that people cover themselves properly in the locker room, or continue to allow the endless sausage parade while guys walk around and laugh and talk and take selfies of their junk in the mirror?

Anonymous said...

Will there be dedicated pickleball courts?

Anonymous said...

Lol everyone thinking they’ll rehire existing staff. This comment nailed it, place was trash. Staff was awful. I’m pretty sure Lifetime isn’t going to invest millions so they can rerun the dumpster fire that ACNE was. Literally even the acronym is trash

Anonymous said...

Well it is a locker room. That’s what locker rooms are for. Changing clothes, showering, steaming, whirl pool, and getting dressed, all of which involve nudity. As a member of ACNE for many years I never once saw members photographing their “junk”.

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful news! I joined the Atlanta Athletic Club over 30 years ago when it was like a town club. The facility has enormous potential. Hopefully, they will add back the restaurant and bar that closed many years ago.

Anonymous said...

It’s a locker room not a nudist camp. Get your business done and move on. It’s often a naked hangout, especially during daytime hours. And you must not look in the mirror while you’re getting ready, it’s plenty easy to see all sorts of things going on like the selfies.

Anonymous said...

Great news! Look forward to getting this location back open. Best layout and location.

Anonymous said...

I would love to attend the new facility. However I am a single member and I’m not willing to pay a HIGH MONTHLY FEE for my limited use.

Anonymous said...

Will the new facility honor the "Silver Sneakers" program for those of us that qualify for this plan? When the gym closed many of us Seniors joined LA Fitness for no cost since our supplemental health plan covered the costs. What will Lifetime do about this?

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a laundry list of comments. The past ACNE closed because it was nowhere near making the income it needed to remain open. Therefore, change is needed. I look forward to the changes the new ownership will bring and expect to pay for them in increased dues. As a longtime member, I look forward to when it opens and wlll pay within reason to remain at this location.

With respect to the "off the wall comments" about nudity, the acronym ACNE, there's no need for this. Stuff happens at any place of business, although I never once in my years at the club saw what was mentioned in some of the remarks.

Once again, kudos to Lifetime Fitness for stepping in and seeing the potential and I look forward to the renovation, changes and resurgence of this new club.

Anonymous said...

Great News! I was a long term member and very excited about this news. Please keep the racquetball courts!!

Anonymous said...

As someone who used to take nude selfies at ACNE, I feel personally attacked. Will they have full length mirrors so perhaps I can get a better angle?

And please tell me they will keep the blow dryers as I always like to prop a leg up Captain Morgan style and blow dry my misters. I didn't pay a HIGH MONTHLY FEE to towel dry them like some peasant.

And pickle ball court?.....Tell me more. Are we holding trial now while bare pickle in the locker room? If so, that sounds delightful.

Anonymous said...

we need on the east side of Atlanta too

Anonymous said...

If you think the cost of membership will not be 50-100% higher than the dues of ACNE, you're dreaming. And honor Silver Sneakers?? Give me a break.I enjoyed membership in ACNE but I'm not gonna pay $250/ month or more when LA Fitness is free ( even though LA Fitness is worse than the ACNE). If ACNE had been managed competently, it would not have had to shut its doors. The problem is, young people, who must be the bulk of membership, are not going to pay high dues. And there are not enough old people with money to fill the void.

Anonymous said...

I hope soooo!

Anonymous said...

I thought the same exact thing about guys going out of their way to walk around naked. Just super weird and unnecessary.

Anonymous said...

Very happy. As poorly managed as it was, there are no clubs like Athletic Club NE around. Looking forward to the reopening

Anonymous said...

The management company who ran Athletic Club gave up on that space years before it closed. Here's to hoping Lifetime does better.

Anonymous said...

"if ACNE had been managed competently"

But it wasn't.

Anonymous said...

Me too. Can’t wait to see everyone and play some tennis. Yeaa

Anonymous said...

Lifetime does not offer Silver Sneakers. They offer plans that are part of the United healthcare Medicare advantage arrangement. That’s it. If you have Medicare advantage with United healthcare, then you can have a membership at lifetime. That is a national policy.

Anonymous said...

The place was going downhill for quite some time. Management allowed the entire ship to sink. They simply refused to clean up the mess. Shame. Shame on you all.

Anonymous said...

Live across the street; therefore, MOVING!

Anonymous said...

If they keep the WOMEN’s wet area separate, I will rejoin.

Anonymous said...

As long as the saunas and jacuzzis and so forth are not co-ed, I’ll rejoin.

Anonymous said...

Wellbridge drove it into the ground, and it never recovered.

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