Josh Harris-Backed Fitness Chain Opens First Prince George's County Gym In Former Toys R Us
A big-box retail space in suburban Maryland has gone from Beanie Babies to bench presses, as Onelife Fitness opened a 55K SF location in a former Toys R Us.
The Clinton property is the first Prince George's County location for the expanding Tysons-based company, which was purchased in 2018 by a partnership that includes Josh Harris, the new owner of the Washington Commanders.
Onelife joins retailers like Aldi, Burlington, Ross and Marshalls at The Landing at Woodyard, a 221K SF shopping center in Clinton, near Joint Base Andrews. The Toys R Us closed there in 2018.
“As the largest health and fitness provider in the Washington, DC area, Onelife Fitness is committed to economic revitalization by bringing jobs and renovating vacant stores like the former Toys R Us in Clinton," Onelife Fitness President Ori Gorfine said in a release.
Clinton is the 29th D.C., Maryland or Virginia location for the brand, which has 50 locations in total, stretching from Maryland to Georgia. Three other area openings are expected within the next six months.
Onelife plans to open a 55K SF facility at a former Giant Food in Manassas in 2024, as well as a 60K SF location at a former Farm Fresh supermarket in Hampton, Virginia, in December, a spokesperson told Bisnow.
Another location is coming to Tenleytown's Upton Place redevelopment, set to open this winter. The project from Donohoe Cos. and Apartment Investment and Management Co. is a repositioning of a former Fannie Mae office building at 4000 Wisconsin Ave. NW.
There, Onelife will take over the location of a shuttered Sport & Fitness, a brand owned by the same parent company that is repositioning them all under the Onelife brand. That location is expected to open in February, a spokesperson told Bisnow.
The Clinton location will include a saltwater lap pool and whirlpool, a stadium-style spin studio, Olympic lifting platform and a kids club.
The pipeline of retail stores to fitness facilities is hot at the moment. Vacant big-box stores, especially located near other retailers, have also become a choice option for pickleball centers, which desire large-format spaces, parking and co-tenants.
