The Zoning Board seems to be creating obstacles more than asking questions. Lower Merion's business base is declining. It is not a good idea to discourage businesses with endless expense. The Zoning Board wants to know how LAFitness "vets" its employees? Most businesses do background check including criminal. The Zoning Board now thinks it knows how to run a business. Do they think that Federal Realty, the owner/manager, wants criminals working at the gym? Not usually thought to be customer friendly. I am not sure that Zoning Board and the vocal neighbors are sensitive to reality of business and employment in Lower Merion. The Civic has a "terrible feeling" as if that is good reason to prevent a business that I would think people would be willing to use and pay for. FYI not good.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Having a gym there puts it in walking distance of a lot of northern Wynnewood and a good portion of Narberth too.

Though it is too bad about the furniture store, they have really nice stuff! My wife and I bought a lovely antique side table there just last weekend.

Bob, you are 100% right! Just a few comments:

"Zoning board member Joshua Grimes noted that during the holiday season, the entire shopping center is often completely packed." Yes, Mr. Grimes and so is EVERY OTHER SHOPPING CENTER IN THE COUNTRY!!!

"McCloney expressed concerns with crime—specifically noting that a 24/7 fitness facility could make the club a kind of late night hangout" HAHA, this is just comical, bordering on delusional. I lived for 5 years across from the LA Fitness in Havertown...no such issue.

"Simon called the idea of a 24-hour fitness facility “completely inappropriate” for the surrounding residential neighborhood" Any how do you suppose a 24 hour grocery store is?!?!?

FYI...I don't workout at all and would never be a customer of theirs, but this is a commercial business in a commercially zoned district. I just wish we could at least pretend we live in a free society.

Terrible idea. That center has awful traffic as it is. And those Big Box Gyms have way more cars in and out then they are saying. BAD IDEA

Bob, I'm at that shopping center daily, I just don't recall the "awful traffic". There is always plenty of parking, even when borders used to be there. Are you sure your're thinking about the right one? It's where the Bed Bath and Beyond is located.

Nonetheless, it is a commercial district and I wish them the very best of luck!!!

https://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sugexp=chrome,mod=14&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=la+fitness+crime

I guess you are attempting to connect LA fitness with crime?? Well, I used your search and found similar connections to "Giant grocery crime" and "bagel shop crime". Check it out.

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=giant+grocery+crime&oq=giant+grocery+crime

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=bagle+shop+crime

Based on this we really should bulldoze the entire shopping center and make it a park. Well, at least I thought that until I saw this:

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=city+park+crime

My overall point is that really, anecdotal evidence is weak at best and can be misleading.

I just can't wait until they open the LA fitness and NONE of these concerns come to fruition, like most other NIMBY alarmists.

I live in the apartments next door. When the Genuardi family first wanted to open up a supermarket in the Shopping Center, they promised us that we could have some parking places in the lot (to alleviate our unending parking problems), that trucks would be limited to certain times of the day, and other assurances that led to their being given permission. Then, they sold to Safeway. Traffic then was often stopped completely Williams Road as trucks tried to maneuver into the ridiculously small area that had been built for Wannamaker's years ago. Now with the Giant trucks, it is an utter nightmare. Oh, yeah, we were NEVER given even one space to use when all those shops are closed. Promises made and broken.

The greatest disappointment to me was when the Ritz Movie Theater people were told they could not have the Bonwit Teller space, so I am not opposed to having a cool business there. And the Ritz would have been open until midnight or so.

Now, I'm supposed to believe that a company located in Irvine, California gives a damn about my quality of life. Obviously the people writing above don't, so why would they?

P.S. I also live across from this proposed use. P.S. I'm pretty sure the Giant trucks are there as they are renovating and stocking the new space. "This too shall pass."

I just love reading all the panic!!!! Fran, LA fitness might not care about your quality of life, but do you care about those of their employees and staff? I didn't think so!!

I have read a lot of negative comments regarding the gym. To be honest, I can't believe more of a fuss was not given over a a bizarre furniture store that has been there for months.. not giving most anything to benefit from at all while taking up generous commercial space within walking distance. For those of us who workout, another gym IS desperately needed in this area. Have you ever tried to park at the Ardmore YMCA or Philadelphia Sports Club? There is WAY LESS parking. If you have ever belonged to a gym in an urban or professional area you will note that the extended hours for these gyms are for PROFESSIONALS and PARENTS who work and either get up very early before work to workout and/or don't get to work out until after children go to sleep. I do not agree that it is going to become a drug-smuggling 'hangout.' Furthermore, all of us have chosen to live two miles from the city limits, yet many constantly complain that 'people will come in from the city to work there or hangout.' Part of me is shocked at these comments. The other part of me is saddened that people are STILL displaying forms of discrimination... b/c at the end of the day that is what you are really all getting at when you read your comments. I do not find this gym to be any different than a large grocery store or Old Navy (neither of those are Neiman Marcus). We should be THANKFUL that there is something going in that most can benefit from for health and well being.. and within walking distance.

Reply to Douglas Martindale:

Douglas, thanks very much for your thoughtful reply.
Just to clarify my earlier post, my wife and I attended the meeting of the Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board last night. I testified that I do not yet have an opinion on whether the Zoning Board should grant the zoning exception to LA Fitness. I pointed out that a Google search of the words: LA Fitness crime yields over 30 Million results from across the USA. I completely agree with your comment that this is anecdotal evidence which can be misleading. However, 30 Million Google search results appears to be far in excess of the number of search results for similar sized nationwide businesses. I simply would like to know whether crime is a chronic problem at LA Fitness clubs in the USA.

Regards, Jay

As the landlord for the 12th Street Gym, I can tell you that late hours attract the people who have jobs. They come before going to work or after. People who come to gyms are very law abiding. The gym's presence is a deterrent to crime. The gym is lit up and attracts health conscious people. Is any gym in Lower Merion or even Philadelphia a crime magnet? Platoon off Lancaster? Phila Fitness on Lancaster? Tell me where a gym is a negative? The Internet is not always the most reliable source of information. The Lower Merion Police and police in surrounding municipalities can tell you what happens in the real world.

I would expect gyms to be crime deterrents because of number of people and the mindset of the customer.

There can be worse problems than traffic and that would be no traffic. the presence of people is, usually, a good thing. If rural living is what you want, I think it would be difficult to find that in Lower Merion and even harder to remake Lower Merion into exurb or rural area. Wynnewood shopping center is value added to the community, not to mention the tax base.

What no pool ? Why would the Bala members upgrade for towels ?
To all the comments..parking definitely not a problem, Bala only really crowded between 430 and 730pm. No noise or deliveries involved. And we would have "life" back in what's become a a ghost town. I'm all for it !

ANOTHER fitness center is about the last thing we need in the community. The only thing we need less is a drugstore. Between the YMCA, Kaiserman JCC, Phila. Sporting Club and a host of other smaller facilities, certainly there are enough treadmills, pool lanes and free weights to satisfy everyone's needs.

glas, what's with the snarky comments? It isn't necessary to put words into my mouth. Where did I attack the as yet unhired LA Fitness workers? I wrote of our experiences at our 200 unit apartment complex w/Genuard's/Safeway/Giant. Those Giant trucks are considerably larger than Genuardi's. And once again, you twisted my words. I didn't mention the number of trucks, but wrote about the area those very large trucks are attempting to maneuver within.

and to the people who belittle my concerns, please re-read my comments where I state that I would have been delighted to have had the Ritz here. And was furious when they weren't allowed to do so b/c of the same crime, noise, and parking concerns. The Ritz owners are quite a different group from the LA Fitness corp.

And Amy, you are SO right. No pool? what's the point? the only spots for a winter swim are the BC location of LAF, LMHS, Kaiserman, and the Ardmore Y.

I was a member of LAF in BC from the day it opened, but often had to drive around to find parking no matter the time of afternoon. It was a real pain and one of the main reasons I dropped my membership after a year or so. (that and the pool maintenance was dismal.)

And, the best part in my own experience at LAF in Bala, was the clientele. Friendly, ready to show you an exercise you may not have seen, and big burly weight lifters making room for me and my little 5 pound weight exercises. We should be so lucky to have that caliber of customer in our shopping center!

Having a gym in Wynnewood is a great idea. It will attract customers from all over the area and will expand our township's horizons. To those worried about others coming in from outside the township, I would respectfully respond that diversity is a good thing to be welcomed, not a bad thing to be feared. We are right next to a major city and should embrace it, not shut it out.

There is more opposition to this than to the Dranoff Ardmore Center which will have a negative impact and which is forcibly subsidized by taxpayer. It has to be subsidized because there is little consumer demand. Lower Merion has spend $6 million studying this.

I'd say do something to improve the traffic flow into and out of the various entrances to the parking lot, and this sounds like a very good idea.

Still all for it...if we leave it empty (renting to monthly's like the dismal furniture store or Halloween adventure) the rest of shopping center will fail sooner rather than later. We need to breathe some life back into shopping center before it too late. Talk to the smaller merchants whose business has seriously declined since Borders left.

Douglas Martindale has his facts wrong. The Giant will be open from 6 AM to 11 PM daily, and the people questioning the LA FItness use are not "NIMBY." The Wynnewood and Shortridge Civic Associations were not objecting to the use of the facility as a fitness center. We were voicing our concerns about traffic patterns and the hours of operation. The Giant's hours were decided years ago by Lower Merion's Board of Commissioners, and we believe the fitness center's hours should be the same.

The Wynnewood Shopping Center is smack dab in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood. It is just plain wrong to have a gym open 24/7 in such a location. In fact, there are no other LA Fitness locations in a ten-mile radius that are open 24/7 so obviously the LA Fitness folks have determined there simply is not enough patronage to warrant the additional hours.

If LA Fitness needs a 24/7 facility, it already has the location -- the facility on City Avenue which is on a major highway/road: Route One -- City Avenue -- and is not right in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

Ms. Connelly has it right -- many of us would have been thrilled to have a Ritz Theatre in our neighborhood. A 24/7 LA Fitness is not a good use for the former building. LA Fitness has done much harm to its cause by demanding the facility be open 24/7 -- it is the party that has made a supportive community much less so.

You are correct, Ms. Connelly. Had LA Fitness agreed that the fitness center would be open from 6 AM to 11 PM (like many of its other centers), and had they agreed to study and address our traffic/circulation/parking concerns, we would not even be having this debate.

I do think stating that the LA fitness will be "smack dab" in the middle of a residential neighborhood is slightly misleading. It's on the North end of a commercial district bounded, yes by some residential property, but also Lancaster and Wynnewood road which itself is bordered by a train.

My overall frustration is that everything regarding business in the township is negative. There seems to be a "naysayer" mentality whenever any business proposes anything. Moreover, I strongly feel all the concerns get completely blown out of proportion, and normally by those that have no real stake in the outcome.

While we all want our township to be a certain way, doing so while infringing on our neighbors private property rights seems intrusive. Sure I would rather a book store back in that spot, but it's simply not something where there is enough consumer demand to support that. I just can't believe that we are now going to micromanage each entrepreneur that would like to do business in our township, especially in this disaster of an economy.

I think the gym would be a good idea. The Bala location is always packed this will allow some members of the Bala location to upgrade and use the wynnewood location. It will bring more people to the Wynnewood area espcially those who live in Overbrook and West Philly to be able to work out. Therefore, not having to drive all the way down city ave. I go to AFC in Bala and people will be willing to pay more for a high quality gym. Because its worth it, thats why I likey gym. So the issue of people not wanting to pay the higher cost membership is not that big if a deal. It would bring a lot of continued revenue into the area.

I am very excited about the possibility of a fitness center opening in the Wynnewood shopping center. I hope they don't out price themselves. With Planet Fitness very close by at just $10.00 a month, it would be foolish of them to have a high membership fee.
Barbara Price
Wynnewood, Pa.

Dear Lee,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments this morning on my earlier post regarding the more than 30 Million Google search results from the words: LA Fitness crime
In your response,
1) You suggested that a two second search on Google was superficial, a point with which I completely agree. Of course, after doing the two second search, one needs to spend a few hours reading and analyzing the information.
2) In your response, you stated: “millions of those results likely have nothing to do with crime at LA Fitness” a point with which I disagree. Have you taken the time to review the Google search results?
In my earlier post, I indicated that my wife and I attended the meeting of the Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board on July 12.
At the Zoning meeting, I testified that I do not yet have an opinion on whether the Zoning Board should grant the special exception to LA Fitness. In fact, I would welcome a gym in Wynnewood whose management across the USA has demonstrated the ability to be a good neighbor and a good corporate citizen especially in the area of public safety.
The Google search results raise concerns about LA Fitness across the US in the areas of public safety and pre-employment screening of employees.
The fact that LA Fitness is requesting permission to be open 24 hours raises additional concerns about their ability to be a good neighbor.
Regards,
Jay Waxman

To be accurate, I think a compare and contrast would be necessary. For example, what are crime statistics at Bed Bath and Beyond which is in same complex. What are crime statistics for Bala Cynwyd LAFitness. To target one business without a context would not produce useful results. My tenant and fried runs a gym in center city and there is little or no crime in or in front of gym. It is in center city and crime is certainly rampant near by but gym is not a cause but a deterrent.

Teri, my experience at the LAF in BC was also dreadful. Their staff are in retail, not Fitness. My free Personal Trainer session was a waste of 40 minutes. e.g. Exercises he showed me made my knees hurt a lot. He had no ideas on what else to do. When I stopped going there and said I was taking a break, they kept charging my Visa! I finally talked to a lot of someones in another state, and finally had them reverse most of the charges, but not all. That company is a rip off. In my prior comments I didn't say all this, since so many respondents just look for anything to criticize or argue ad hominum. But after reading the "epinions" above, I saw that my experience was quite normal. They are the Walmart of fitness.

For people who actually live in this area and do not work bankers' hours (if such things still exist!), having the opportunity to work or shop in the late night or early morning hours would be welcomed.

oops--I meant work out in late night or early morning hours....

I grew up in the area. LA Fitness will be a bad addition to the shopping center. I've been to their centers in other cities and they are pretty awful. If a fitness center is a good fit then why not try to get a good place like Main Line Health and Fitness? That's a great gym where my family has worked out for years. What people say online has a lot of truth to it -- LA Fitness is a bottom feeder fitness center. They care more about marketing than fitness. Too bad for my old neighborhood and for my family that the best whoever owns the center can do is LA FItness. Pretty sad. Borders was wonderful and I have a lot of happy memories of it. Now there will be a dirty, sceevy, maybe crime-ridden LA FItness! Read the reviews people! YUCK!

LAFitness The Worst Gym in Philadelphia http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2012/07/24/worst-gym-philadelphia/

Sage is right. "Bottom feeder fitness center." The only gym at a lower level is Planet Fitness which is, oh yeah, right in MY backyard (let's put all the auto dealerships and crap in Ardmore).