Bechtle Avenue business closes, 2nd Springfield location stays open

Anytime Fitness on Bechtle Avenue has closed. Bill Lackey/Staff

Anytime Fitness on Bechtle Avenue has closed. Bill Lackey/Staff

Anytime Fitness recently closed one of its two Springfield locations, but the gym’s owner said it was part of a long-term plan and no employees will lose their jobs.

The Anytime Fitness location at 1785 Bechtle Ave. closed on Feb. 25, said Mark Daly, a spokesman from the chain’s corporate office. That location had only one employee who isn’t working at a second Springfield location at 151 Tuttle Road, said John Spence, one of three partners involved in ownership of the Springfield gyms.

READ MORE: Store closing at Upper Valley Mall, moving to Bechtle Avenue

Closing the Bechtle location will allow the partners to focus on the remaining site, Spence said. The Bechtle Avenue location was opened by another franchisee in 2007, he said. The partners purchased it from the previous owner in 2014 as part of a long-term strategy to close the location once the lease expired, Spence said.

“The industry and the market have changed in the time since the Bechtle store had originally opened,” Spence said. “The best way to continue to serve the community is by focusing our efforts on one location in Springfield.”

DETAILS: 2 national retailers close Springfield stores

The Springfield store is also changing its business strategy, Spence said. Competition from a nearby Planet Fitness site and other competitors, as well as the local economy, also played a role in closing the Bechtle Avenue store, he said.

In the future he said the Tuttle Road store will place more emphasis on offering personal training services for area residents.

RELATED: $1M in developments coming to Bechtle Avenue in Springfield

“The Anytime Fitness model is evolving from a strictly membership-based club to a coaching model,” Spence said. “In the future, we will have fewer members in many of our stores but the majority of our members will be receiving some type of fitness coaching or personal training.”

The chain, based in Minnesota, operates more than 3,500 locations worldwide, Daly said. The fitness chain serves about 3 million members in 27 countries. Spence estimated Ohio has more than 100 locations across the state.

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