UPDATED, 10:31 a.m., December 24: PFNY, the New York-based franchisee of the rapidly expanding Planet Fitness, will take 21,900 square feet at 213 West 34th Street, according to data from CoStar Group. The building is owned by a partnership between Bobby Cayre’s Aurora Capital Associates, the Adjmi Family and Jenel Management’s Jack Dushey.
“We are really excited about this flagship location on 34th Street as we feel it embodies the ethos of Planet Fitness,” said PFNY CEO Jeff Innocenti, “which is delivering a high quality gym experience to a large segment of society at the always-affordable price of 10$ a month.”
Aurora principal Jared Epstein confirmed the 15-year transaction at the four-story, 61,600-square-foot retail building but declined to comment further.
Asking rents for the space were $60 per square foot and Planet Fitness — known for its purple-and-yellow color scheme and cut-rate prices — will open there in April of next year, CoStar data show. The building is anchored by discount shoe retailer Designer Shoe Warehouse, which has 42,544 square feet.
Jordan Barker and Richard Chera of Crown Retail Services, who are the exclusive brokers for PFNY, deferred to Innocenti for comment.
The New-Hampshire based franchise Planet Fitness has more than 700 locations across the country, according to its website, and PFNY has at least eight other locations in Manhattan. In June, PFNY took a 29,500-square-foot space at 423 West 55th Street in Midtown West and a 28,576-square-foot gym at 25 Broadway. And in August, it inked a deal for 15,700 square feet at Magna Hospitality Group’s Sheraton Hotel in Tribeca at 370 Canal Street, as The Real Deal reported. A spokesperson for Planet Fitness couldn’t provide further information by press time.
Other budget-friendly gyms, such as Blink Fitness, have also upped the ante in Manhattan in recent months. Indeed, Blink Fitness hired a retail leasing team at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank earlier this month to help it scour for locations, as The Real Deal reported.