Bally Total Fitness plans to open a health club next spring anchoring the Towson Circle retail project in the former Hutzler's department store, the project's developer said yesterday.
The health club will take 22,000 square feet on the lower level of the building at York and Joppa roads, with a street-level entrance on York.
"This will be a major health club and major statement for the Towson area," said David Cordish, president of Baltimore-based Cordish Co., which is jointly redeveloping the former department store with Towson-based Heritage Properties Inc. "We think it's a good complement to some other tenants. People like to park once and do two activities or even three."
The first anchor, a multilevel Barnes & Noble megastore, opened last month, joining a Sprint Corp. store and a Storage USA residential and commercial storage facility. Pier One Imports will open early next year. The developer is negotiating to sign a restaurant and another major retailer, Cordish said yesterday.
Cordish, known nationally for developing the new breed of urban entertainment centers that mix specialty retailers, restaurants and entertainment, said health clubs have worked well as the entertainment component. Health clubs are part of Cordish's Trolley Square, a mall in Salt Lake City, and Charleston Place, a hotel and mall project in Charleston, S.C. Cordish said he also hopes to bring a health club to the US Airways Arena in Landover, which his company is redeveloping with arena owner Abe Pollin as a sports-oriented retail and entertainment complex.
"Any time you can add complementary as opposed to competing uses, you're lengthening the stay of your visit," Cordish said.
Bally has a health club in nearby Towson Town Center. Cordish said he believed the new club would replace the older facility, but Bally officials could not be reached to confirm that yesterday.
Cordish also said Busy Body Inc., a retailer specializing in home fitness equipment, will open a 3,800-square-foot store in the spring in Towson Circle.
Pub Date: 12/24/98