New Des Plaines Gym Expected to Open in September

A new gym is moving into Metropolitan Square in downtown Des Plaines, Michael Bartholomew told city council members at a meeting on Monday. Elite Training and Fitness, based in Elk Grove Village, is going to open in the space formerly occupied by World Gym, Spa di da… and Coldstone Creamery on Market Street, Bartholomew said. The business has a projected opening date of Sept. 1, Bartholomew said.

“That’s great; I must’ve put on 15 pounds since [World Gym] closed,” acting Mayor Mark Walsten said.

Bartholomew told city council members that Alex Dambach, director of community and economic development, and he have a meeting scheduled with the owners of Metropolitan Square next week.

“We’re going to sit down and we’re going to talk about the strategy to fill those vacancies,” Bartholomew said.

World Gym closed in November 2012, and Spa di da… closed in January 2013 and Coldstone Creamery closed in March 2008. The downtown Des Plaines development has been plagued by vacancies since a short period of time after it opened in 2006. Flower Art Studio left the center in April 2012, and Cheeseburger in Paradise closed its doors in March 2011.

A statement on Elite Training and Fitness’s website states, “Our mission is to provide knowledge, discipline and guidance to improve your quality of life through exercise, nutrition and highly qualified, dedicated personal training staff.”

Matt Kurucz, asset manager at World Class Capital Group, the Austin, Texas-based investment company that acquired Metropolitan Square through foreclosure, said, in an interview with Patch in February, the new gym was expected to be 11,619 square feet, which was more consistent with current industry norms.

“All of these boutique gyms now are within that 11,000 to 15,000 square foot range,” Kurucz said. “You can get a lot more done that space than you can in 7,000.”

Personal training will be a larger part of the new gym, compared with the previous gyms, Kurucz said.

“That’s a big part of these guys’ business — hands-on personal training,” he said.

The entrance to the new gym will be on the corner, where Coldstone Creamery was, Kurucz said, which will be more visible than the previous gyms’ entrance.

“That old gym space was just tiny,” Kurucz said. “This will look and feel a lot more like a real health club.”

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