A Colorado Springs fitness club that has anchored the same North Academy Boulevard address for more than a decade is on the move. The Crunch Fitness location, which has operated for 14 years at 5620 N. Academy Blvd. on the city's northeast side, is relocating about a mile south into a former Big Lots space at 5085 N. Academy Blvd.
Representatives with Fit Fusion, a fast-growing Crunch Fitness franchisee that bought both Springs clubs from Harman Fitness in April, said the company expects to open the 30,000-square-foot facility by the end of the year. Membership pre-sales began this week, according to a Wednesday news release.
Fit Fusion's $5 million investment will include expansive cardio and strength training areas, amenity studios for yoga and Pilates, Crunch's signature HIITZone training area with indoor turf, Power Half Hour Circuit Training, personal training, group fitness classes, and Olympic lifting platforms. The new club will also include a dedicated Crunch Reform Pilates studio for members with the brand's premium Peak Results membership, and members can access specialty offerings such as TRX classes and a hot studio featuring hot yoga and hot Pilates. Relax and recover amenities will feature HydroMassage beds, red-light therapy, cryotherapy, tanning, a sauna, and a stretching zone.
The gym will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a change the franchisee implemented at its clubs on June 1. Crunch North will continue operating at its current location at 5620 N. Academy until the move is complete.
Fit Fusion is also subleasing an enrollment center a couple of doors down from the former Big Lots, planned to open this winter, where a street team will build strategic partnerships with local businesses and support employee wellness programs.
The first 500 founding members will receive offers to join for $1 and get one month free, plus free Crunch swag, according to the news release. The new location is also giving away 10 free one-year memberships through its sweepstakes page.
The move comes amid a notably active period for the local fitness market. Colorado-based VASA Fitness opened its fourth Colorado Springs location last summer in Briargate; Planet Fitness opened its seventh area location in December in Old Colorado City; and Iron Wild Fitness, a local gym, opened downtown in May. Fit Fusion leadership said the brand's commitment to diverse offerings at an affordable price and its history of inclusion distinguish it from local competitors.
Fit Fusion is also considering opportunities to relocate or renovate its southern Colorado Springs location at 1801 S. Academy Blvd., which has operated at that site for 16 years, though leadership said its primary focus remains the north club's impending move.
A confirmed opening date for the new North Academy location and any decision on the future of the south club have not yet been announced.