F45 Training has been cleared out at 4800 Auburn Avenue in downtown Bethesda. The fitness facility opened at the Gallery Bethesda apartment tower in 2016. I've seen no reports that the Mark Wahlberg-backed chain of gyms is closing any significant number of locations, In fact, the company successfully went public two weeks ago, and is opening a new location in downtown Silver Spring this year.
7 comments:
"I've seen no reports that the Mark Wahlberg-backed chain of gyms is closing any significant number of locations"
You sound defensive.
5:06: Providing context which, in this case, suggests the moribund Montgomery County business climate was likely to blame as opposed to a failing chain filing for bankruptcy.
It looks like is near the end of a five-year lease. Have you considered the possibility that the location wasn't the greatest? Not visible from Norfolk Avenue or Woodmont Avenue, let alone Old Georgetown Road or Wisconsin Avenue.
Maybe the Gallery was looking for a better tenant - have you contacted them? Maybe it just wasn't popular with the residents of the Gallery.
Have you contacted F45 Training?
How can the "moribund climate" be to blame when, in the same article, you cite their new location in Silver Spring?
7:27/4:51: The moribund climate is what gives county businesses a very slim margin for error. So factors like the low-traffic location cited by 4:51 can be fatal, whereas the more-prominent Georgia Avenue location might be profitable. Both locations suffer from the fact that, as new luxury developments, residents upstairs already have a low-cost fitness option provided in their buildings' fitness centers.
The fact is, F45 has closed in Bethesda, and this is not a chainwide problem or else they would be closing all over the country.
Are we moribund? Yes. I've been sounding the alarm for years, and now The Washington Post and others are also backing my position, using the very terms "moribund" and "stagnant."
This F45 location closed because the landlord wanted the gym out. Apartment dwellers were complaining about the noise and live DJ led classes on the weekends. When the lease came up the landlord chose not to renew. The franchise owner is looking for another Bethesda location.
RD your last comment that luxury apartment dwellers have a cheaper option is not relevant. Fitness/healthy habits/looking good for Insta is not a fad but a long-term secular trend. Much like high end coffee that had multiple offerings and price points over the last two decades something similar will happen with gyms. Nearby apartment dwellers may not go to F45 but there will be a larger potential crowd from house dwellers, condo owners, and office workers in the area.
Your comments on a moribund local economy are true. MoCo not being able to attract a single Fortune 500 company over the last decade is telling. The long-term trend to business friendly, low tax jurisdictions will not change. MoCo is on the wrong side of change. Areas like B-CC may be able to do better relative to other MoCo towns. But longer term all of MoCo will be at a net loss.
12:24: Well said. Thanks for the insight on this.
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