GoodLife Fitness has opened a club in the historic Bank of Montreal (BMO) building on Stephen Avenue in Calgary, Alberta (Canada).
According to GoodLife Fitness, David Patchell-Evans, the company’s founder and CEO, chose the long-vacant former bank building as an ideal location for the company’s flagship Calgary club.
“Calgary has such a successful economy and vibrant business core,” said Patch, in a press release. “This gorgeous building pays tribute to the city’s heritage and provides an opportunity to bring a truly unique, enjoyable fitness experience to people working and living downtown. This is one of our most beautiful fitness clubs in Canada and I’m delighted to welcome Calgarians through our doors.”
GoodLife Fitness worked with Square Feet Design Group Inc. and Trigon Construction Management for over a year restoring the historic building’s mezzanine, main floor and basement. The company took care to protect the unique decorative features including 35-foot ceilings embellished with rosettes and 917 ounces of gold leaf, marble floors, decorative mouldings and original chandeliers.
According to Lori Ireland of Square Feet Design, there were special structural and decorative considerations in transforming a heritage building to accommodate a fitness club.
Working closely with the Historic Resources and Management Branch of the Alberta Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the team reinforced the structural floor load to carry the extra weight and vibration of the equipment and replaced the cooling and fresh air systems. They uncovered solid marble inlaid floors, cleaned and restored ornamental plasterwork and polished brass doors and handrails.
“We developed brand-new approaches to meet infrastructure requirements and ensure the heritage elements of the building would be conserved,” said Ireland. “GoodLife took great care to rebuild many of the interior historic features and uncovered beautiful decorative elements in the process. One of the washrooms is actually built inside an old bank vault. It was well worth the extra effort. The faces of the GoodLife employees and members of the public visiting in recent weeks say it all. Their positive reaction confirms we were successful in maintaining the historic elements and accentuating the original beauty.”
The club opened its doors on December 18, 2014. Club amenities include cardiovascular equipment, strength training equipment, free weights, group fitness classes, personal training, massage chairs, modern change rooms with dry cedar saunas and more.
GoodLife Fitness is the largest fitness club chain in Alberta and continues to expand across the province. There are currently 27 GoodLife Fitness clubs in Alberta including four Fit4Less clubs (the company’s budget express brand). GoodLife Fitness plans to expand to 30 clubs in the province in the near future. In the Calgary area, there are currently 13 GoodLife Fitness and two Fit4Less clubs.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
