Business & Tech

Town Approves Planet Fitness to Run 24-Hour Facility

Marple Zoning Hearing Board approved Planet Fitness to take over the former Gold's Gym site on Springfield Road March 16 to operate on a 24-hour basis.

BROOMALL–In a 5-1 vote, the approved the application Wednesday night for Planet Fitness to operate at the former location of Gold's Gym off of Springfield Road as a 24-hour basis facility.

The fitness center plans to operate its business starting from midnight on Monday morning through Friday at 9 p.m. The weekend hours will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Board member Walter Pierzchala voted against the fitness facility's application for a special exception to run as a 24-hour facility.

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A few questions were raised by Pierzchala involving trash pick-up, noise and parking.

Toni Rufo, president of Rhino Holdings in Broomall and one of the owners of the Planet Fitness facility, said a dumpster has been designated by the property owner to use in which trash pick-up will occur during normal work-day hours.

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In regards to noise, Rufo said, "There is music but it will not be heard outside the facility at all. It's very low music so that members can also put headphones on and plug them into the treadmill. But there is background noise."

Parking will not be an issue, according to Rufo, who said that the landlord has given the gym access to the entire lot to use for clients and the parking lights currently woork on a 24-hour schedule.

On behalf of his neighbors, Gordon Egan of Woodlawn Avenue, expressed their concern for a 24-hour facility to operate in a "bedroom community."

"We have set precedence and we'd like to limit it from being commercialized," said Egan. "There have been over the past 40 years ample documented problems that proves this area has had its problems...we do not want to revisit these problems."

According to Wacker, Planet Fitness caters to the "average person" and "first-time gym users."

"Many of our members work second shifts or the 'swing shift' such as police officers and firefighters," said Wacker. "We don't cater to the skateboard crowd, the weightlifters or power lifters. People who go to our gyms are usually there at the max for one hour and just go there to work out."

The busiest times are usually during dinnertime hours, said Joseph Wacker, attorney for Rhino Holdings in Broomall, in which that can by anywhere from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the busiest days are usually on Mondays.

Throughout the course of a Monday, Wacker said the facility could see approximately 1,000 people–including members, guests and staff–or about 125 people at most at one time.

Wacker said they don't anticipate any more than 40 members in the evening, off-peak hours and may have only two employees on duty while the facility may use up to seven employees during the day.

The gym will offer free pizza for one hour on the first Monday of the month and free bagels and coffee on the first Tuesday of the month. Rufo assured no cooking will be involved on the premises and the food will only be offered for once a month in a short period of time. The facility will only hold coolers with soft drinks and water, according to Rufo.

Wacker said as a service industry, they hope to "certainly allow them to workout on their terms and keep people in Broomall healthy and fit."

Rhino Holdings in Broomall currently owns 10 other Planet Fitness facilities, including Ardmore, Aston, Clifton Heights, Souderton, South Philly's Fishtown location and Trevose. An opening date has not yet been scheduled for the Broomall facility.


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