Sport&Health has announced that it has signed a lease to open a new $6 million, 42,000-square-foot location at Market Square in Frederick, near the Clemson Corner Shopping Center on the north side of the city. It will be the company's second location in the city, having opened a roughly 30,000-square-foot gym on Buckeystown Pike in February. That space was previously occupied by Gold's Gym International of Irving, Texas.
 
"We're just crazy about Frederick," CEO Mark Fisher said, citing reaction to the Buckeystown Pike facility. The community "is very vibrant and very active. They're very health-conscious."

Sport&Health finalized the lease, whose terms were not disclosed, last week, working with Vanguard Realty Group of Potomac, according to Fisher. Construction for the new club is scheduled to begin in January and be completed the following September.

Sport&Health has 25 other locations in Maryland, Washington and Virginia, Fisher said.

Pre-construction services will be handled by Hubert Construction of Gaithersburg, which is working on Sport&Health's new clubs in Gainesville and Woodbridge, Va., Fisher said. The new Frederick club will have 45 employees, most of whom will be new hires.

The new facility will offer group exercise, yoga and Pilates, as well as an indoor swimming pool and a space for children, according to Sport&Health information.
Renovations totaling about $250,000 are ongoing at the Buckeystown Pike location, including new paint, tiles and exercise equipment, according to Fisher.

Sport&Health considered several locations for a second Frederick club before choosing Market Square, "because we wanted to be in the hottest spot in Frederick," Fisher said, noting the burgeoning retail area near the new club.

Retail centers such as Clemson Corner Shopping Center are intended to bring services to people who live and work in Frederick, said Richard G. Griffin, the city's economic development chief.

"Providing fitness services to people who live in the northern part of the community is important," Griffin said of Sport&Health. "It is incredibly convenient and I think that it will be incredibly successful."

The U.S. fitness industry in general has been successful, despite the slow recovery. There were 29,890 health clubs in the U.S. through January, according to information from the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association of Boston, which bills itself as the global trade group for the fitness industry. That is up slightly from 29,750 in 2009.
U.S. health club revenues totaled $20.3 billion in 2010, up from $19.5 billion in 2009, according to association information.

Sport&Health officials "really love the I-270 corridor" and are looking at other locations along Interstate 270 to open new clubs, including Germantown, Fisher said.
"I wouldn't rule out another Frederick location," he said.