Planet Fitness newest location…

Planet Fitness will open its 10th greater Cincinnati location in January 2016 at the Towne Mall Galleria in Middletown.

Planet Fitness has signed a 20-year lease for 26,614 square feet of space from Towne Mall Galleria, according to a press release from Cushman Wakefield, a commercial real estate company.

“We’re thrilled at the chance to add another Planet Fitness location to the Greater Cincinnati area,” said Planet Fitness Chief Operating Officer Mike Hamilton. “Middletown is an area we have been looking to move in to for several years, and we are excited that we found a great location in the newly renovated Towne Mall.”

After the October opening of a new location in Florence, Ky., Planet Fitness in Middletown will be the company’s 10th area location.

“Throughout their expansion efforts in the Greater Cincinnati area, we have been pleased to assist Planet Fitness with finding ideal locations which are convenient for their customers,” said Andrew Sellet of Cushman Wakefield’s Cincinnati office.

The leasing of the space to Planet Fitness shows that Towne Mall Galleria “is on the right track,” said George Ragheb, vice president of Towne Mall Galleria LLC.

“With more national tenants selecting Middletown as the desired location for expanding their respective businesses, this is another win-win-win for the city, the tenants and Towne Mall,” he said.

“To date, we have leased 142,163 square feet — all with brand new stores, all to first-class national tenants,” Ragheb said. “We are continuing our work to fill the inside mall space, and we are working diligently with other tenants to fill the outlots we have entitled to make this a destination shopping, eating and entertainment location.”

Located near Middletown’s newly rebuilt Interstate 75/Ohio 122 interchange, additional Towne Mall leases are currently in the works, according to Ragheb.

City Manager Doug Adkins said the mall has always had the challenge of finding stores that people want to shop at while not directly competing several other nearby shopping destinations, including Austin Landing in Miami Twp., the Union Centre Boulevard area in West Chester, Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe, and the $350 million development Liberty Center that is under construction.

“They’ve done a nice job slowly building lease space with viable businesses that will benefit Middletown,” he said. “As with all pieces of Middletown’s recovery, it will take time and continued incremental improvements to bring the mall back to a sustainable, fully functioning level. The bigger pieces are coming together … the smaller pieces will follow with time and continued hard work.”

Planet Fitness was founded in 1992 in Dover, N.H. and is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisers and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations.

With more than 1,000 locations in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, Planet Fitness’ mission is to enhance people’s lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, according to the company.

More than 90 percent of Planet Fitness stores are independently owned and operated.