New Gym To Take Over Old Ace Hardware Space

A trio of fitness enthusiasts plans to open a gym in the former Ace Hardware store on Glenwood Avenue.

Village Fitness, which has a target opening date of Feb. 1, is leasing about 6,000 square feet of the building at 1231 Glenwood Ave. and another 3,000 square feet of exterior space, Scott Manwaring, one of the gym's co-owners, told East Atlanta Patch.

Financial terms were not disclosed but the lease is for five years.

Manwaring's partners in the gym include Justin Fouse and Kevin Perry.

Manwaring and Fouse worked together as personal trainers; Perry was a manager of a fitness facility in Buckhead.

The gym, which will be open 24-hours, will feature cardio equipment, circuit training, free weights and tanning, Manwaring said.

It also will have an outdoor patio, juice/smoothie bar, men's and women's showers and locker rooms, offer personal training, he said.

Because it's 24-hours, members will have stickers or placards to place in their cars, to park their vehicles. Non-members who park there will be towed, Manwaring said.

Asked why the three partners opted to open in East Atlanta, he said the Village has plenty of foot traffic and has a lot of activity, which makes it attractive.

"It's such a good active spot," Manwaring said. "Kevin's been eyeing this spot for a long time."

He added he expects most of the gym's members — 101 who've signed up, so far — to come from the East Atlanta neighborhood.

The gym would be the fourth health club in the greater East Atlanta area. operates in Ormewood Park's Ormewood Square, Snap Fitness has a 24-hour gym in Glenwood Park and the Metro Atlanta YMCA runs the East Lake Family YMCA in East Lake.

But Manwaring said he doesn't see too much overlap for customers since it's main focus is East Atlanta.

As an enticement the gym is offering down a $1 down pre-open sign-up promotion, with monthly rates being $19.99 or $14.99 depending on whether clients take a one-year or two-year contract, not including initiation fees. (Senior citizens also get the $14.99-per-month rate.)

Tanning beds are an additional $10 a month and personal trainers will be $60 to $500 per month, depending upon the type of packages they want.

This new gym follows last year's collapse of what was to have been the . Property owner Brent Cunningham nixed the lease he had with the group affiliated with that gym after they failed open or pay the rent.

The Ace Hardware building has a total square footage of 11,360 square feet. Ray Nestlehutt, a commercial real estate broker with Richard Bowers & Co., has been marketing the remaining space to other parties, including grocers.

"We are working to market the space to a tenant that will help bring more people into EAV downtown area during the day," Nestlehutt told Patch in an e-mail.

"The owner of the building is very interested in making the Village a stop for day visitors, adding to the area's already great nightlife.

"I have shown the space to a few grocery operators that are looking at the space as well as a few potential tenants that will add other new amenities to the neighborhood as a whole."