DOWNTOWN WORKOUT
Total Fitness expanding
Luis Mendez couldn’t repeat enough Thursday how much he believes in the future of downtown Windsor.
And that’s why the 34-year-old owner of True Fitness health club chose the city’s main street — Ouellette Avenue — as the home for his new location.
“When considering a second location, the downtown just spoke loudly to me,” he said. “There is a lot of potential here with dense population, business professionals — lawyers, bankers — the food service industry.
“I am super-excited, superpumped to be downtown. I really believe the downtown area is going to be a force to be reckoned with. I know it will continue to grow and become the downtown we know it can be.”
Construction has already begun inside the future health club to be located at 443 Ouellette Ave. — a long-vacant building that used to be home to a Shoppers Drug Mart and a law office.
Mendez is confident it will be the perfect spot to attract downtown office workers, core city residents, visitors from the Holiday Inn across the street and students from the downtown campuses of St. Clair College and University of Windsor.
The target opening date is some time in August.
Initial plans include a typical fitness club with hours of operation likely to be 6 a.m. to midnight. Eventually, the 7,000 square foot space will also feature personal training, massage therapy and other wellness features.
It will be the second location for True Fitness, that currently operates a location in the 4800 block of Tecumseh Road East. Membership fees downtown will be the same at roughly $29 per month, Mendez said.
Mendez’s goal is to employ 15 people at the downtown location.
The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is contributing a rent subsidy of $625 per month for 12 months.
“This is huge for downtown,” said Larry Horwitz, chairman of the downtown BIA. “A health and fitness centre in the heart of downtown is going to help attract other businesses. More residents will decide to live downtown. This was one of the top needs we identified for the core area.
“Luis found a location and saw a vision not a lot of people see. He had a dream and it included the downtown core. I want to commend him. He has brought True Fitness here and it fills a need.”
Mendez last fall initially found himself in the middle of a controversial city council fight to save ground-floor retail space inside the Pelissier Street parking garage.
He offered to rent much of the space for his health club, but was shot down as council instead voted to spend $500,000 to create roughly 50 more parking spots inside the garage and remove the retail space.
The health club owner said Thursday he remains disappointed with that decision, but quickly set his sights on finding a different downtown home for his business.
“As a young entrepreneur, I encourage other business owners to take a hard look at the downtown core,” he said. “Downtown is coming on — I know it is.”
Luis found a location and saw a vision not a lot of people see. He had a dream and it included the downtown core.