Planet Fitness signed a lease on 22,000 square feet

Planet Fitness has signed a lease on a 22,000-square-foot space next to the Tractor Supply store at 300 N. Valley Mills Drive and has begun renovating space in the former Walmart location, a real estate agent involved in the deal confirmed Tuesday.

Planet Fitness, founded in 1992 and based in Newington, N.H., has grown to 642 locations.

It markets itself as a “Judgment Free Zone.” According to its website and published reports, members can relax, get in shape and have fun “without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.”

The chain created controversy when The New York Times reported a patron had his membership revoked for “grunting” at a location in upstate New York.

Waco Realtor Pat Farrar said Tuesday he has brokered a deal on space in the Walmart store on Valley Mills Drive that closed in 1998, when a Walmart supercenter opened at Franklin Avenue and New Road. Other retailers have filled portions of the building through the years, including Tractor Supply, which continues to operate while other businesses have left.

The arrival of Planet Fitness still leaves about 50,000 square feet available.

“I have prospects on the balance, but nothing solid,” Farrar said. “I feel good about my chances of landing the next big looker.”

Planet Fitness Chief Operating Officer Mike Turner and Director of Franchise Sales Candace Couture did not return phone calls Tuesday.

The company website lists 37 communities where it recently opened outlets and another 24 where gyms will open soon, but Waco is not listed.

Cathy Groppe, of the city of Waco’s inspection services department, said Austin-based Havens Construction is seeking approval to finish out lease space for Planet Fitness.

Planet Fitness promotes itself on its website as not having any salespeople, juice bars or childcare “that drive up the costs and can make a gym membership seem more like a car payment.”

The company focuses on “clean, stylish, hassle-free facilities that are filled with tons of brand-name cardio and strength equipment,” The website also says membership fees start as low as $10 a month.

Waco real estate agent Jon Spelman, though not involved in the transaction, said Planet Fitness fits well into that center.

“If the place proves popular,” he said, “it will have an intensive need for parking, which is plentiful.”