RSS FeedFitness Center Activity in Gallery Place/Penn Quarter!
We can’t begin to explain how nice the Verizon center building looked at night standing on the corner of 7th and F St NW. VIDA Fitness opened up and three floors of the building were lit up with activity. Bang Salon was busy “doing heads,” too (obligatory Blowout reference). Read the comments from yesterday for first impressions.
And this morning, we have a shocking unconfirmed report from Brian that construction on BodySmith is moving forward! We had once thought that VIDA Fitness claimed its first victim before even opening, but it would appear that BodySmith was only regrouping.
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Comments
Has anyone confirmed that BodySmith is proceeding with construction? When I walked by yesterday it looked like they were cleaning the space out.
worked out at vida on the first morning..there were more workmen than workouts ..but still they managed to plug in some treadmills and greet customers with a smile AND a bottle of water!
this am got a quick trim and highlights @ BANG..
Thanks Jenny!!.. Nice that they are open but still ALOT of work to do!
All the Same Welcome to the Hood!
Yes, I remember the Discovery Store. It was the first prototype store from the Discovery Channel. Discovery did spend tens of millions of dollars building out their former space in the MCI Center. I am not convinced that store would have made it, even today. That space has a weird configuration – no store entrance directly at the metro escalator and no access on 7th Street. This part of F Street is rather quiet unless there is a game or other event. If you notice on the other end of the block, Benetton and Washington Sports Club have entrances right as you leave the metro escalator. This works. The Verizon Center space is not designed in such a way. The Discovery Channel store needed much, much more pedestrian traffic from the street. The Vida Fitness space does not need to rely so much on street pedestrian traffic for its business success. Its members know where the gym is and pay to go there. This formula will prove to be the most successful in the longterm.
“Bang Salon was busy “doing heads”"
LOL. I just can’t stop giggling over this one. This statement takes me back, way back!
Thanks GPLiving.
I highly doubt Bodysmith will open. I signed up to purchase a membership from them a LONG time ago. They sent me the info, I signed up, sent billing info and everything. They wrote me a nice letter SEVERAl months ago saying they had decided to abandon the plans. Furthermore if you examine their website all the references to their new gym are gone. It all boils down to this, I tried to buy something from them, I tried to pay them for it, they did not take it, they said nevermind. That’s pretty bold, so I am certian it is not opening. I was also told in the nice letter that they had accepted a buy out of the space from a unnamed entity.
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Wondering if anyone remembers the great Discovery store that used to be in the new Vida space? Discovery spent a ton of money building an incredible space. I want Vida to thrive, but that store would be a fantastic part of the neighborhood today (they were ahead of the curve, I guess).