Local Gym Owners Weigh Impact of New 24-Hour Fitness

A handful of Rohnert Park gyms are bracing for the new anchor tenant that’s expected to rejuvenate the largely dilapidated Northbay Centre — 24 Hour Fitness. Project planners said construction could begin as early as this month.

Along with the health club giant, slated to take the place of the former 42,000-square-foot Rite-Aid Pharmacy building, the new center plans include an extra 2,500 square-foot retail building and a total renovation of the plaza’s exterior facade. The city OK’d the deal Nov. 23.

Developers are waiting for the city to approve the project’s building permits, which could happen by the end of April, according to Tien Pham, the property manager for Corte Madera-based Argonaut Investment, who’s leading the project.

Some local gym owners are at odds with the project, some welcome the competition.

Aaron Locks, who owns University of Sports in Rohnert Park, and Paul Maytorena, general manager at 21st Century Health Club in Cotati, applauded the idea of another resource that will help local residents meet their fitness goals, and said that the prospect of new competition had made them get sharper at their game.

“We’ve completely restructured what we’re doing in preparation,” Locks said. “I really believe competition is a good thing because it makes you strive to have the best. My belief has always been that if you build something that is unique, and that is constantly changing to meet the needs of the community, then you’ll survive.”

Locks, however, maintains that the proposed development has substantial environmental review violations and that the traffic report that was conducted by city planners is flawed. He said the city underestimated the amount of traffic that would be in the already congested areas at peak time.

“The challenge I see is that I think that — when we have an industry in town, let’s say like fitness that has 13 health clubs — 13 in a town of 40,000, the demographics don’t support it. All it’s really going to do is cannibalize the other businesses.” 

“It’s a tough thing,” said Maytorena, who oversees 21st Century Health Club, a fitness center that’s been in operation since 1994.

“We welcome the business [to the area] as far as the health club business goes,” he said. “Getting members to join health clubs is a good viable option.”

Maytorena said that although his club is a mile and a half from where the new 24 Hour Fitness will be, that a big chunk of the gym’s base membership is from Rohnert Park — and that there was a possibility that it could become stiff competition.

“If people give us a fair shot, we can help them,” he said. “A locally-based club like ours does a lot to give back to the community. If it’s about price, then things are going to get tougher. The ironic thing is that they’re not looking for new members. They are looking for members from other clubs.”

Steve Kellig, owner of the Anytime Fitness in the Mountain Shadows Plaza, said that he didn’t think the coming of 24 Hour Fitness would impact his business at all.

“When a new restaurant moves into town and serves a different menu than you serve, people may try them,” Kellig said. “But if you’re doing well at your job, it should be a nonissue. A fitness club is a very personal choice.”