Planet Fitness to open second Minneapolis location

Minneapolis is set to get its second Planet Fitness gym.

The low-cost gym is set to open sometime late in the third quarter of this year at 575 Ninth St. SE, a complex along East Hennepin Avenue near northeast Minneapolis. The franchisee is Fargo-based Baseline Fitness, which operates more than 120 Planet Fitness locations, 37 of which are in Minnesota, according to a statement from Planet Fitness.

"We chose the location because we believe it is underserved from a fitness perspective. We look forward to providing a cost-effective, judgment-free fitness solution in this area and joining this wonderful community,” Will Delaney, Baseline’s senior director of marketing, said in a statement.

Baseline operates the one other Planet Fitness in Minneapolis at 2852 26th Ave. S. Planet Fitness has more than 2,700 locations across the globe.

The new club will be 19,500 square feet. A standard membership at Planet Fitness is $15 a month.

The complex, called 9th Street Center, is comprised of nine buildings built between 1910 and the 1950s. It’s owned by Minneapolis-based Hillcrest Development LLLP. The occupancy is around 90%, and Hillcrest Managing Partner Scott Tankenoff said the building has been well occupied for at least the past decade.

Planet Fitness confirmed its tenancy.

Hillcrest bought the property in the late 1990s. It was an industrial project with occupancy hovering around 60% to 70% and full of challenges, Tankenoff said. Hillcrest made a number of investments since then, and the neighborhood where Central and Hennepin avenues merge has blown up in the meantime with hundreds of multifamily units and a deluge of restaurant activity.

The new gym is going to change the neighborhood even further, Tankenoff said.

“It’s going to further infuse the idea that you’ve got more service, good amenity, people already want to live there — but I think there will be more pressure for people who want to live there, want to office there, want to get the benefit of it,” he said. “I think this leads to more service options.”

Other tenants in the complex include Top Ten Liquors’ corporate headquarters; Minneapolis Cider Co. and its connected event center; online news publication MinnPost; Ambiente Gallerie, a chiropractor and massage studio; rock climbing cooperative Midwest Climbing Academy; marketing firm Ingredient; and others.

“It's got good infrastructure, it's got good parking, it's got good services — it's just got the right type of space,” Tankenoff said.