With the closure of Evanston Health Club LA Fitness in mid-April and the changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a change in the climate at Evanston Health Club.
City Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak, who spoke with the LA Fitness Club’s corporate office when the closure was announced, said the company made the decision based on low sales of new memberships as well as high business costs at Evanston. He said the space vacated by the club is about 58,000 square feet and costs the club more than $ 2 million to rent each year. With a drop in membership from around 5,000 to 3,500, the club could not cover its expenses.
“There have been interesting efforts in the community to get the company to keep the Evanston site open,” Zalemezak said. “Alderman [Clare] Kelly spoke to the LA Fitness corporate office, asking them what would be needed. The company has decided not to do that. “
Zalmezak said the loss of the health club is significant for many of those living in downtown Evanston. Silver Sneakers, an exercise program designed for older adults paid for by Medicare, is hosted in Evanston by LA Fitness. “We came to other gyms [about hosting the program]but some are too small to host the Silver Sneakers and are not offered at the Evanston Athletic Club. “
Will Roberts, customer support manager at Evanston Athletic Club, 1723 Benson Ave., said their membership was increasing. “We recently had a big increase due to the shutdown of LA Fitness,” Roberts said. “Our business has generally increased by about 50% in terms of pedestrian traffic, membership sales, inquiries.”
Izzy Libman, owner of TruFit, a private personal training studio at 610 Davis Street in downtown Evanston, said some of the trainers who lost their jobs at LA Fitness came to work from TruFit and that the studio’s offer has changed in a number of ways.
“Everyone went online, trained on Zoom, and it seems that it remains for now. And now we have clients living in different states. That will remain, “Libman said. “We also found that we don’t have to work in split shifts that we did before and after [9-5] work hour. It wasn’t a healthy way to run a business, but my clients started working from home and could spend an hour having lunch.
Libmann said that the new, post-COVID model enables healthier workloads for trainers: “Trainers are much better in TruFit than in LA Fitness, trainers can set their own hours and rates, train as they see fit and earn more money. ”
Libman said TruFit not only survived the pandemic and saw positive changes in its business model, but will open a new TruFit concept, TruFit Wellness Studios, right next to Davis Street. The new location will include physical therapy and massage therapy, as well as workshops and nutrition demonstrations.
However, despite the positive changes, Libman said she understands that running a fitness business in downtown Evanston comes with challenges. “If I have a client who also wants to have an affordable gym membership, pickins are super slim,” she said. “I would like the city to make it easier to run one here.
“Property taxes are very high and that makes it very challenging to make ends meet and pay employees as much as they are worth and keep services affordable. It saddens me when I see that studios and gyms are close. There is no shortage of people who want to feel better and more mobile. ”
Becky Slenk, executive director at McGav IMCA, said they have many new members who were previously members of LA Fitness.
Speaking about the experience of overcoming the pandemic, she said it helped her team focus on the importance of community and “defining health beyond traditional fitness metrics.” Slenk said I accepted the need to support McGav’s members through the pandemic and the ongoing changes that were part of it.
“McGav is much more than just a gym,” she said. “We are not just a place, but a purpose, guided by the strengthening of our Evanston community and serving as a place of belonging for all. The pandemic highlighted the importance of community and defining health beyond traditional physical fitness metrics.
