David Leon says it’s been nearly two years since he bought the old Hastings building along 10th Avenue South in Great Falls and since then he has worked with the city, nearby business owners, and the Montana Department of Transportation to finalize building and parking plans.
Leon says the new location will feature more parking spaces and a 25,000-square foot facility that will have more than 125 pieces of cardio equipment and 100 TV screens.
"What we’re doing is basically going to put about eight Planet Fitness locations throughout the state of Montana," he said.
Leon owns three other locations in Montana: Helena, Missoula, and most recently Bozeman, and a number of clubs in the U.S. and other countries.
"Really you guys were really under-served with fitness almost in every city in Montana," he said.
Leon plans to open Planet Fitness clubs in all major Montana cities with Great Falls and Billings on the horizon: "Our filler markets will be Kalispell and Butte- we think we can put two clubs in a city like Billings."
Leon says he looked for a number of economic factors before breaking ground in the state: "If you look at the actual populations, demographics, income amounts, you saw that this area was really underserved when it came to fitness.
The fitness club in Great Falls will create around 10 direct full-full time jobs.
After finalizing plans, Leon says they plan to start building in several weeks.
While Planet Fitness will be offering incentives like free training and tanning, along with $10 per month memberships, staff at the new Peak West Bank Landing say they welcome the competition.
Manager Jamie Galbraith says since The Peak opened their second location in early January, memberships have increased each month at the new facility.
Galbraith says they’re excited to have another fitness option coming into Great Falls for residents and hopes it will drive traffic up at their facility as well.
He says the second location adds another option for residents on the west side of town who want a quick workout.
"Convenience factor for this side of town, we’re obviously a little smaller so we’re more kind of a boutique type, where people can come in and get out a little bit quicker, and so we’re looking to try to get people the quick workout with the availability of a new location," said Galbraith.
Galbraith says The Peak was the first business to open in the newly developed West Bank landing area
He says they expect more growth at the location as businesses continue to open.
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