Steve Weller is happy to be opening a new business close to downtown Sidney in the wake of recent worries about the state of the local economy.
Weller, owner of Hi Tech Collision, recently purchased a former gym facility next to Thrifty Foods off James White Boulevard. He is renovating the space and renaming it the Peninsula Fitness Club.
“I used to come here in the morning with other local business owners,” he said. “This was kind of like our coffee shop.”
When the gym closed, Weller said he didn’t want to see that happen. So, he bought the property and the equipment and is consolidating two separate spaces into one gym and will be offering up the second commercial space to another business.
The club itself, he explained, will be for members only — up to a maximum of 250 people. Already, without much publicity, he said he has gotten interest and membership applications from around 125 people.
What will be different about this club, he continued, is it will not be staffed (except by a cleaning crew). Members can come and go as they please, accessing the facility with a club card. The gym has security features built in — including alarms and closed-circuit cameras — and members will be required to wear and EMS necklace. If there’s any trouble, Weller said people press a button and emergency services are notified.
“This has never been done here,” Weller said of his project, adding he’s doing it this way to keep costs down and to offer memberships at a reasonable rate.
Those memberships, he added, are equity memberships. If, after 18 months, a client wants to end their membership, Weller said the club will buy it back.
“It’s going to be like your own personal gym,” he said, adding there will be amenities on site for both male and female members.
Weller said he’s working to open the club on May 1.
Learn more about the gym at www.peninsulafitnessclub.com or email peninsulafitnessclub@gmail.com.