The marquee sign that once listed showtimes at the Visions cinema in Dupont Circle now heralds the opening of the indoor cycling club Flywheel. The old concession stand has been repurposed into a front desk, while the mezzanine has been transformed into a fitness studio complete with floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
“We really wanted to hang on to some of the unique features of the space. The volume of the space is dramatic, and the wide storefront is an amazing billboard for us,” said Tracy McIntosh, vice president of real estate for the Flywheel chain.
As the District continues to attract an array of fitness studios and health clubs, new entrants are getting creative with their real estate choices. High ceilings and open space are basic requirements for most boutique studios and gyms, the kind of features that can be difficult to find in the city center. But with a little retrofitting and a lot of vision, movie theaters can be perfect.
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We're not talking big-box multiplexes, but the kind of one- or two-screen theaters that show art-house films, documentaries or classic cinema, as Visions did before it closed in 2004. The configuration of the theater made it fairly easy to retrofit the space, said McIntosh.
It has been about three months since Flywheel opened at 1927 Florida Ave. NW. The chain, which got its start in New York, is known for its TorqBoards, which display resistance, calories burned and speed as riders pedal.
The District studio is the company’s 33rd location and features 63 bikes on stadium-style tiers that let everyone see the instructor.
“Our studios always feature stadium-style seating, so you almost feel like you’re in a theater, with every bike on a different level,” said Alana Radmin, Flywheel’s vice president of public relations. “The curved space of the theater lends itself really well to that setup. In other places we have to build that, but here we were able to work with the space.”
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Radmin said the mezzanine level of the old theater proved to be a great space to teach Flybarre, a body-sculpting class that incorporates elements of Pilates, ballet-inspired barre and strength training.
Flywheel sells its branded gear in the old box office. There is even space carved out for a future juice bar or other complementary tenant.
“There is no downside to the space,” McIntosh said. “It’s a first of its kind for us, but with the success of it I’d absolutely look for this kind of site again. It really lends itself to boutique fitness.”
Flywheel occupies more than 6,000 square feet of space, a fraction of what most health clubs require. Health clubs typically have more space demands than studios, said Geoffrey L. Mackler, a commercial real estate broker at H&R Retail.
Gyms need proper plumbing for showers, flooring that can sustain the weight of heavy exercise equipment, soundproofing and enough space for multiple classes. It’s no wonder they flock to the suburbs for sprawling spaces.
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Still, Mackler said, health clubs are often flexible on leasing below-ground or second-floor space as long as there is a street-level entrance.
“Health clubs need larger spaces for locker rooms where you don’t really want windows, so basements and back-room space is fine,” he said. “There are also clubs that prefer unconventional spaces for the character.”
Take Crunch, a gym with locations in former movie theaters in Chevy Chase and Tysons Corner. Brothers John and Kirk Galiani, whose company, US Fitness, operates the gyms in the region, grew up in Northern Virginia and have a nostalgic connection to the former Tysons Cinema space, according to Kristy Byrd, general manager of the Crunch in Chevy Chase.
“They went to movies in Tysons Corner and remember seeing ‘Jaws’ at the theater; now they’re operating a health club out of the space,” she said.
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The Chevy Chase location, at 5100 Wisconsin Ave., was the first Crunch to open in the District four years ago; followed by other area locations, including the Tysons branch at 8371 Leesburg Pike, which opened two years later. The Chevy Chase location is housed in the former Loews Cinema 1, a 20,000-square-foot space doors away from the Friendship Heights metro.
All of the strength-training machines, weight racks and main studio space are on the lower level of the Chevy Chase location. The mezzanine houses rows of treadmills and elliptical machines as well as the cycling studio, looking down on the training floor.
Byrd said some local members who remember the old movie theater marvel at its transformation.
“There is an architectural component that makes these spaces unique and cool, but also there is that whole sense of history and being a part of a long-standing community,” she said.
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