Blink Fitness and landlord Seritage Growth Properties announced a deal to open 17 gyms at Seritage properties across 10 states.
The lease agreement is part of an aggressive Blink Fitness growth strategy. "At a time when many retailers are shutting their doors, Blink is thriving," said Blink Fitness CEO Todd Magazine. "Seritage recognized our strengths and was eager to find real estate opportunities for us across the country as we continue to grow our footprint. Our partnership with Seritage Growth Properties is one of the many exciting real estate initiatives driving our rapid national expansion."
Since its inception in 2011, Blink Fitness has opened 70 company-owned gym facilities across California, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The company also has corporate-owned and franchise units in various stages of development in several major U.S. markets.
Blink Fitness is on track to have approximately 85 gym units operating by the end of this year, Magazine says. The company will enter Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia over the next year or so. Magazine also says he anticipates that the company will surpass the 300-unit mark over the next five years.
Seritage Growth Properties welcomes the lease deal as a means of helping to further diversify its tenant base. "We are very pleased to establish this mutually beneficial relationship with Blink Fitness, a brand that exemplifies the differentiated, growing and in-demand retail concepts that are joining our national portfolio," said Seritage President and CEO Benjamin Schall. "This lease is a perfect example of how our national portfolio can provide retailers unparalleled access to prime real estate in high-growth markets."
Seritage Growth Properties is a publicly traded REIT with 225 wholly owned properties and 24 joint-venture properties, totaling some 39 million square feet across 49 states and in Puerto Rico.
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
