Wednesday, January 20, 2016
AUSTINTOWN
Planet Fitness in Austintown will open with more than enough time to work on spring-break bodies.
Nick Tanozich, director of operations, said construction is going well and everything is on target. Planet Fitness won’t have an official opening date until it passes final inspections. The final inspections will be scheduled one week before an expected opening date.
Martin Solomon, president of B&I Management, which operates the Austintown Plaza, said he is thrilled to bring Planet Fitness to the township.
Planet Fitness will occupy a 23,000-square-foot space, the same size as the Boardman, Niles and Hermitage locations, in the plaza, 6000 Mahoning Ave.
“It’ll be a very good fit,” Solomon said. “I think it will be quite successful, especially long term.”
Jay Gonzalez, general manager of the Austintown Planet Fitness, said he expects to open sometime in the middle of February, and he has high hopes for an influx of patrons.
“There is a big following in Boardman and Niles, and we hope to have the same,” Gonzalez said.
The large following, however, started to diminish from Austintown residents.
“We lost membership from Austintown, and building this facility in Austintown is bringing those members back,” Tanozich said. “A lot of former members are coming in and saying, ‘I want to get signed up and come to this one.’”
Tanozich said the drive to either the Boardman or Niles location was just a little too far for some. The loss made the decision to build in Austintown easier.
“Austintown is a growing community, and we had our eye on it for awhile anyway,” Tanozich said.
Solomon also enjoyed the idea of bringing in an underrepresented market to the township.
“We generally try to seek out retailers or tenants that bring to the table uses or products that aren’t necessarily represented in Austintown,” Solomon said.