Planet Fitness opening soon in Farragut
Planet Fitness soon will open a location in Village Green shopping center in Farragut.
With business permits from town of Farragut pending, Kira Ehly, who owns the Knoxville-Chattanooga franchise opening the Farragut gym, is eager to begin construction on the new facility, going in at 11433 Kingston Pike next to Stein Mart, said Cambrie Gagliardi, director of marketing for Planet Fitness-Tennessee.
“It should all get squared away and we can start early next week,” Gagliardi said. While no date has been set yet, she said Planet Fitness is looking to open sometime in August, which will be Planet Fitness’ 25th anniversary.
“We’re up to 1,100 locations nationwide,” Gagliardi added. “This is going to be our sixth location [in the Knoxville-Chattanooga service area] with two of them in Knoxville.”
Plans call for a 25,000-square-foot gym with state-of-the-art, branded equipment, which includes weight-training equipment and more than 100 pieces of cardio equipment such as treadmills, heart trainers and bikes.
“We have a PF 30-minute circuit, so in 30 minutes you can get a full-body workout,” Gagliardi said.
“We’re going to be hiring staff, so [Planet Fitness] will provide jobs for people in Farragut,” she added. “We’ll have staff working all hours.
“We’re excited about the [Village Green] shopping complex,” Gagliardi said. “It’s a vibrant complex with traffic on Kingston Pike and Campbell Station. We’re excited to bookend there next to the Stein Mart.
“Farragut has been a growing community, and it has been one of the locations we have been wanting to get into,” she added. “There has just been so much development going on and [this area] doesn’t have a gym model like this for first-time gym-goers, for people who want a judgment-free environment. There’s some other competition, but it’s a totally different model than we are.”
“We pride ourselves on being a judgment-free zone. It’s really a comfortable environment, a clean environment. Anybody can come in and feel comfortable, safe and respected.”
Clients can get a workout at their own pace, and the gym will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“So, it’s not just a keypad access,” Gagliardi said.
The gym offers training with a fitness instructor, design-your-own programs and classes, hydro massage, tanning, massage chairs and red light therapy, which looks like a tanning bed but is good for the skin according to Gagliardi.
“It’s what dermatologists use,” she said.
The new gym will start presales, offering a $1 sign-up fee, sometime in June for the opening in August, Gagliardi said.
“So you can pay a $1 [sign-up fee] and join Planet Fitness,” she added. “You won’t be charged the membership fee until we open.”
The signup fee will change after opening.
