Metro Atlanta is set to get a new premium gym. "Club Studio," a newly launched upscale gym from Fitness International, LLC, is due to replace the existing, roughly 50,000 square foot LA Fitness in TOWN Brookhaven (755 Brookhaven Avenue) in Brookhaven.
LA Fitness is due to close as of August 25. Including Brookhaven, the Irvine, California-based gym operator currently operates 40 facilities under the LA Fitness branding in the greater metro Atlanta area. Overall, Fitness International has more than 700 locations across the country, including Esporta Fitness and City Sports Clubs.
The new Brookhaven gym is expected to feature five specialized studios: CS4 (Run. Ski. Row. Reps.), yoga, cycling, boxing, and reformer pilates, as well as more traditional gym offerings like free weights, cardio equipment, a lap pool, and basketball courts. Also planned are so-called "holistic wellness" offerings like compression therapy, full-body cryotherapy and saunas.
Club Studios also feature a boutique retail offering and an on-premise "beaming" cafe which offers assorted smoothies, bowls, and coffees as well as a curated assortment of packaged vitamins, supplements, beverages, and snacks.
The first Club Studio debuted in December 2022 in the company's home market of Irvine in southern California. Club Studio Irvine opened in place of a former Orchard Supply Hardware, a bankrupt regional hardware store. Today there are four Club Studio locations open with ten more coming soon, according to the Club Studio website. The Brookhaven location, and another planned for a former Bloomingdale's in Santa Monica, are not among the ten listed.
Brookhaven would mark the third existing LA Fitness location to be converted to the new, more premium (expensive) concept. The three other operating Club Studio locations occupy former locations of Best Buy (Long Beach), Randalls, a regional grocer (Kingswood/greater Houston), and 24 Hour Fitness (Tysons Corner).
Data analytics firm Placer.ai published an extensive report last June comparing the Irvine Club Studio to an existing nearby LA Fitness. Notable findings from their analysis included that Club Studio members tend to have a higher median HHI (household income) of $130,000 vs $107,000 for LA Fitness. "They also tend to have more education, with two-thirds of Club Studio members holding a BA or higher vs half of LA Fitness’ membership." The full report can be found here.
Other planned locations are a mixture of conversions of other gyms, department stores and grocery stores as well as new builds.
According to an LA Fitness employee in Brookhaven, the conversion is expected to take eight to twelve months with more information and pricing expected to be released closer to the reopening. (A separate ill-informed employee directed us to "one of the other Club Studio locations in Atlanta" when we inquired about the club's expected pricing and was surprised when we informed them that the Brookhaven location will be the first in the state.)
If looking at pricing at open or upcoming Club Studios is any indication, current LA Fitness members in Brookhaven are in for some serious sticker shock.
Although Brookhaven is not currently taking new members, its pricing is consistent across all Atlanta area locations. A "Classic, multi-club membership" within the state of enrollment costs $44.99 per month with an additional annual fee of $59. A "Classic +1 guest" with national access costs $39.99 per month plus a $75 initiation fee and a $59 annual fee.
Club Studio, however, based on the pricing and likely the size of their current network, is a lot closer in price to rival Life Time [Fitness].
Below are the monthly prices of Club Studios that currently list their membership options:
Irvine, CA - $189 individual, club of enrollment and $249 per month, multi-club
Long Beach, CA - $199 and $249
Kingswood, TX - $139 and $249
Tysons Corner, VA - $169 and $249
Citrus Heights, CA (presale) $129 and $249
For its part, Life Time Buckhead, which opened at Phipps Plaza in December 2022 and spans more than 100,000 square feet over five stories, has perhaps the highest monthly prices in the state: $299 for the first person age 26 and older, $100 for an additional person 26 or older (maximum one) and $80 per person under age 26 (unlimited). Despite the breathtaking price, the Buckhead location has a waitlist, according to the location-specific website.
Life Time commands such high prices claiming that it delivers a "country club experience" but recent reviews of the facility suggest competitors like Club Studio may have room to grow if they can consistently deliver a higher level of service. Twelve of the last 15 Google reviews of Life Time Buckhead are one or two stars, with many lamenting the same cleanliness and service concerns.
Life Time also operates a large format location in Sandy Springs priced at $199 for their "signature" plan - members 26 and younger, and 65 and older are priced at $169.
There are also new locations planned to open later this fall in North Druid Hills (former Athletic Club Northeast) and Perimeter (former Concourse Athletic Club) next spring.
LA Fitness also operates pairs of locations in both Buckhead and Dunwoody/Sandy Springs, including one on Peachtree Road at "The Block at Phipps" (fka Lenox Marketplace) across the street from Life Time at Phipps Plaza.
It will be interesting to see how strongly the new Club Studio opens or if their current or would-be customers find their way to other nearby LA Fitness locations....or the competition.
Have you ever been to a Club Studio? What is the maximum amount you would pay for a monthly gym membership? Are you excited about Club Studio opening in Brookhaven?
Please share your thoughts below.
32 comments:
Too bad. It’s a nice place to workout and not be crowded. And be comfortable not dressing fancy. I like a tank top, basic b-ball shorts, short socks and Nikes and that’s it. No fashion clothes. And it’s comfortable. Even the people who go there aren’t snobs, are friendly and say hi to you even in the shower. I’ve met some fun guys there who like it for the same reasons I do.
When is Atlanta getting an Equinox?? Much more high end than Lifetime. I’ve been begging them for years to open in Atlanta
The LA fitness at the block Lenox marketplace was originally another gym I want to say it was called octane or something like that. That was a great gym until LA fitness took over.
Has anyone had experience with one life at the Perimeter? Did they really build huge pool and track and that retail space is it too crowded? Is it expensive?
Crunch fitness has a really good following and I’ve checked it out. It’s a different experience but a real nice gym.
Planet fitness I don’t know if they have figured out what they want to be when they grow up.
L.A. Fitness seem to be trading a local mainstay for a rather iffy attempt to draw in a wealthy clientele that doesn't fit that area very well (across from a Costco?!). I believe they will end up regretting it. I already do.
Are those 2 sorry pictures the best they could provide? I sure miss Australian Body Works where I paid $199 for a whole year.
Love the detailed article with all the information. Research and hands on reporting. Much better than one of your competitors did.
One thing the Club Studio will have over the LA Fitness is a cap on membership so it isn't over crowded. That won't be worth the extra $100 to $150 per month for most of the current LA Fitness members. So they'll have to pull members from other premium gyms.
@Anon RE: First gym at Lenox Marketplace (The Block at Phipps)
It was called "Urban Active Fitness"
These are my thoughts also. If Eli still maintained his Death Watch, this would be on the list. I give it 18 months.
Anybody remember Lex Luger's gym on the corner of Windy Hill and Powers Ferry? It was pretty awesome and I think it was called Main Event. I would stop by when I had a free pass and sometimes catch an NFL player or two working out there during the offseason. In fact there was a downstairs area that catered toward pro athletes and their training.
It was Urban Active Fitness.
Yes. Used to visit there every now and then and spent some time “downstairs” with a couple of guys. Fun times.
Been going there for years. Dont think this is the right fit. If they did tiered pricing I think they would find out that most people prefer what LA already offers. Too bad the Buckhead LA is so bad. Looks like ill be looking for another gym.
One reason LA Fitness in Brookhaven gets so crowded is because they let selected people in who don’t appear to be paying members. If they enforced the membership rules it wouldn’t be as crowded. Hopefully they do check ID at Club Studio if members are paying lots of money.
It will never happen. The demographics do not support it down here. Well Buckhead/Vinings has the household income, it does not have enough active lifestyle users for equinox to be profitable. I spoke with their director of real estate last summer about the now closed Sprouts location on Roswell road.
Man, almost everyone commenting above regarding LA Fitness sound like a bunch of Karens and Beckys just hating on anything that has to do with LA. Your disdain for LA is blatantly obvious as reflected in most comments. LA Fitness is a privately held company founded in 1984 and has since grown to 740+ clubs with an annual revenue exceeding $2.1 billion. I’m confident that LA’s well-seasoned Executive Management team has a sound strategy when planning club locations. At least far superior to all the armchair QBs on this thread. Most of you are clueless about even running a single gym and would fail. This is certainly not a comment section, but more like a pissing contest by a bunch of suburban haters.
The executives are indeed well seasoned! Last time he tasted like salt, pepper, garlic and paprika. Just like La
And you are correct Sir ! 👍
And you are correct Sir ! 👍
LA? It’s just a great big freeway. Put a hundred down and buy a car. In a week, maybe two they’ll make you a star!
This is awesome I hope it thins out some of the crowd and results in better service / quality of gym. There’s always something broken at this LA and the amenities are nothing special. If you want to go to an LA, drive 2 miles down the road and go to the Lenox one.
I'm a former Australian Body Works member - when LA bought them out, they honored the old ABW contracts. I still pay $14.95/month for LA and can visit any of their locations nationwide. So I'm kind of stuck there. The clubs vary wildly in quality based on location.
My office is near the Akers Mill location (near Cumberland/The Battery). Has to be the worst in the chain. It is a total dump with half the treadmills out of order on any given day, nobody re-racks their weights so you have to hunt for them, the locker rooms are nasty, etc. I keep wondering if they won't renew their lease but then they do a half-ass renovation and let it decay for the next 5-10 years. I joined the Planet Fitness right around the corner since it was so cheap ($10/month) and the cardio machines are much nicer there and actually work.
The Brookhaven LA Fitness location is/was pretty nice - no complaints about that one. The Perimeter location has gotten better since they renovated it a few years back, but it's still not as nice at the Sandy Springs one at Abernathy and Roswell Road. The newish Peachtree Corners location is also very well kept as are the ones north in Johns Creek area.
F* this douchery, when are we getting a golds gym so I can solve the riddle of steel. Actually, never mind I just found a train track and some railcar wheels laying around. Keep your country club and it’s you have to have lost your mind prices. Spend that cash on CrossFit membership people and at least get worth while workout.
The bikes are sooo out of date! They are horrible! They all need to be replaced!
What can you expect from a place like this? LA Fitness has become synonymous with lack of cleanliness, poor experiences, unhelpful staff, and even instances of theft. They should consider running background checks before enrolling members.
Too expensive. Not going there!
To me, this is hands-down the best LA Fit in the Atlanta Metro area across the board; considering size, amenities, equipment, modern fittings, and just overall layout.
Seems it would make more sense to convert the Buckhead LA Fit because of the location & because it’s so drab it needs to be remodeled anyway.
Does anyone actually believe this renovation will be done in 8-12 months?
LA Fitness tried this 20 years ago when they took over Bally’s and attempted to cancel existing memberships. They got sued, lost and had to grandfather in Bally’s customers. Now they’re pulling this again with this new club concept and will likely try to not honor existing LA Fitness memberships.
Would they except Silver Snickers membership
That was the best gym ever! WCW wrestlers, nitro girls, Miss Elizabeth working the front desk!
Soooo true. You get what you pay for!
Club Studio expects to open around July 1. Last week, they opened a "preview center" in Town Brookhaven close to the gym location. They are signing up members there and on their website. Current pricing is $149 per month for a standard membership.
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