Gold’s Gym closed after asset liquidation ordered.

Gold’s Gym of Springfield shut down at 1 p.m. Tuesday after owners were unable to meet a deadline set by a federal bankruptcy judge for new owners to purchase the fitness and recreation center.

Chief bankruptcy Judge Mary Gorman on Tuesday granted a request from Illini Bank of Springfield for conversion of a Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 asset liquidation. The order clears the way for Illini Bank of Springfield to resume foreclosure proceedings, including eventual sale of the property. healthclubnews.tumblr.com

The gym at 1600 Clear Lake Ave. opened in 2005 and had approximately 45 employees, according to court records. Maureen Suhadolnik of Springfield held the local franchise for the national chain.

“It’s primarily due to the fact the buyer we had lined up to purchase the property did not follow through,” said R. Stephen Scott, the Springfield attorney for Gold’s Gym. “To say the least, we’re disappointed.”

Suhadolnik was not immediately available for comment.

The gym filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in March 2014 after what Suhadolnik at the time described as a series of financial setbacks. Early this year, a plan was approved by the court to sell the gym to Pennsylvania-based Nas’Annos Corp. for nearly $1.8 million, but the sale was never completed. Nas’Annos had been involved in other fitness center projects, according to Suhadolnik.

In August, a bankruptcy trustee asked that the case be converted to Chapter 7 liquidation by arguing Gold’s Gym had failed to comply with court orders and that further extensions would reduce the value of the property.

A second group of prospective buyers identified as BodyScape Fitness & Wellness of Illinois expressed interest in joining the original buyer, according to court documents, but the financing could not be completed before a Sept. 28 deadline set by the court.

“We had another buyer in the wings,” said Scott. “We had some preliminary letters for financing but not firm financing letters.”

The Tuesday order also authorized a bankruptcy trustee to administer the liquidation. The local gym had already been removed from the corporate website, goldsgym.com, on Tuesday.