Pending closure of RB gym leaves some members upset
“I’m absolutely mortified,” said Lynne McKee, a Rancho Bernardan who purchased a one-year membership on Aug. 5. “They knew they were closing ... (and) I did not sign up to do business with (another) company.”
McKee and other members were notified by Women’s Fitness World employees on Aug. 16 that their memberships are being transferred to 4 Women Only, a Poway fitness center, effective Sept. 16.
According to Women’s Fitness World owner Paul Fisher, he started looking for a facility to accept his members after realizing he would not be able to renew his Rancho Bernardo Town Center lease and had yet to find someone to take over and renovate his business. He also owns gyms in Chula Vista, El Cajon and South Bay.
“I’m trying to make this as painless an experience as possible,” Fisher said. “I’m hoping to work out (a new arrangement) ... but wanted to give ... notice ... to members.”
Several members said they deem the Poway facility below acceptable standards, mentioned the pool’s smaller size and said there is no guarantee they can join similar classes on the same days and times.
Fisher said the Poway gym is under new ownership, was recently renovated, and is the closest women-only fitness facility that would accept his members at their current dues. In addition, some of his instructors will work at the Poway gym.
The membership contract states the ownership can transfer members “to a comparable club within 10 miles.”
“This is the best possible scenario,” Fisher said, adding there are several reasons why he cannot continue operating the gym he opened 15 years ago. At the time, he invested $1 million in renovations, which included building two indoor pools.
“I’m losing money and can’t afford to stay in business there,” Fisher said, explaining that over the last seven years, he has been losing $12,000 to $15,000 a month.
He said to be financially viable, his gym needed members from throughout the region, not just Rancho Bernardo and Poway. It has 700 to 800 members, but needs at least 500 more.
Business, he said, was “phenomenal” during its early years, when his was the only commercial fitness center in the area. Since then, fitness centers opened in RB, 4S Ranch, Poway and Carmel Mountain Ranch and many Rancho Bernardo community centers added or upgraded their fitness centers. RB residents have free access to these due to homeowners association membership.
Once construction began on Interstate 15, Fisher said members living outside Rancho Bernardo but driving past it on their commute dropped their memberships because they were spending more time in traffic.
“We were packed in the morning (due to locals) but at night we were dead,” he said.
In addition, memberships declined when the recession hit and in a flier distributed to members, claimed the property management company “declined any reasonable offer for a lease extension. It was our hope to make some much needed improvements to the facility, which only could have been made possible with a fair market value lease option.”
Ron Bamberger, president of Boardwalk Development, which manages the property, said the gym is “a poor performing tenant ... operations have struggled and (Fisher) did not invest in upgraded equipment and facilities” that would have attracted and retained members.
“He did a beautiful job 15 years ago, but has not put in a penny since,” Bamberger said, adding Boardwalk Development is also looking for someone to operate a fitness center in the space.
Meanwhile, members have to decide whether to use the Poway gym since they are legally obligated to keep paying their dues until their contracts expire.
Rancho Bernardan Jill Larson said she is “one of the lucky ones” because she is “locked in” until Oct. 1. She plans on joining LA Fitness in 4S Ranch.
Julie Young, a north Poway resident, said she does not want to drive to the south Poway gym, partially because the pool is smaller. She said members should have been given a choice of gyms and is inclined toward LA Fitness in 4S Ranch or Frog’s Club One in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
As for Rancho Bernardan Erika Fry, she will probably start using facilities at Casa de las Campanas, where she lives, because it is too far for her to drive to Poway. Knowing she is paying for a membership is an incentive for her to exercise — Fry has free use of Casa’s facilities — and would have chosen LA Fitness in 4S Ranch, she said.