Minnesota family planning sites for Anytime Fitness

[caption id="attachment_23509" align="alignright" width="385" caption=" An architectural rendering of the Anytime Fitness location set to open in Rohnert Park this fall. (courtesy of Avila Architects)"][/caption]

ROHNERT PARK – Several members of a Minnesota building industry family are relocating to the North Bay to open four health clubs, starting in Rohnert Park.

Steve and Nichole Kelling, both 39, his brother Michael, 32, and sister Elizabeth, 24, plan to open their first club in early October in the Pacific Market-anchored Mountain Shadows Plaza shopping center, according to Steve Kelling.

The siblings purchased a four-location franchise from Anytime Fitness and chose to start the venture in Northern California because of previous vacations here and housing availability in Petaluma, he said. The similarly hard-hit Minnesota housing market affected the 36-year-old Mora, Minn.-based family lumber yard and construction company, Sherman Lumber, and has forced the transplants to rent their Midwest homes rather than sell them.

“We eat it on one end and benefit on the other,” he said.

Hastings, Minn.-based Anytime Fitness has more than 1,300 gyms open worldwide and was ranked as the fourth-fastest-growing club franchiser last year by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclubs Association. The chain charges franchisees a $20,000 fee and a flat rate of $449 a month, with discounts for each additional location.

Anytime Fitness currently has six locations in the North Bay in Dixon, two in Santa Rosa, Ukiah, Vacaville and Windsor. In addition to three the Kellings plan to open, one is set to open this fall in Molsberry’s Market-anchored Larkfield Center north of Santa Rosa and another is planned for Fairfield.

The Kellings have the chain’s real estate team scouting 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot locations within an hour of Petaluma, starting with the city itself, Novato and Vallejo. They’re looking for new locations rather than retrofitting shuttered health clubs, because of any associations potential members may make with a previous establishment, Mr. Kelling said.

The 4,700-square-foot Mountain Shadows location, designed by Avila Architects of Santa Rosa, was finished just before the center was sold in late 2008 to a group formed by North Coast Investors Group of Eureka. The building was never occupied, according to Keegan & Coppin agent Rhonda Deringer, who represented the ownership in the 10-year lease.

Anytime Fitness locations tend to have 800 to 1,000 members who live within a one-mile radius. So far, a couple hundred nearby residents have stopped by the new Rohnert Park club to inquire about memberships, Mr. Kelling said.

The Kellings plan to charge $19 to $49 a month, depending on the number of members in a family and length of commitment, with no initiation fee.

The clubs are open around the clock, with staffing from morning to late evening. At other times, the facilities have electronic key access and buttons to alert authorities.

In Larkfield, Brett and Rachel Livingstone, operating as NorCal Fitness Inc., are awaiting use-permit approval for an Anytime Fitness club in Larkfield Center and are looking to open more, according to health club consultant Eric Nelson.

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