VIDA Fitness, one of the premier fitness brands in the Washington D.C. area, has another expansion planned. This new VIDA facility will be located at 4040 Wilson Boulevard, occupying three floors in the tallest mixed-use building in the Ballston area.
Featuring all of the best programs, design and amenities VIDA can offer, the Ballston club will be the brand’s most advanced and engaging facility to date. The grand opening is planned for the beginning of 2020, but despite the wait, the new location is already generating a lot of buzz.
For an inside look at the development of the Ballston location and what it means for the future of VIDA Fitness, Club Solutions spoke to Aaron Moore, the club’s director of operations:
CS: What led to the decision to open the Ballston location?
AM: We’ve been eager to expand and test out a new market. There are very few 25,000 to 30,000-square-foot spaces left in Washington D.C. that are appropriate for a fitness concept like ours, so we’ve been researching our next move for about four years. There are many pockets in Northern Virginia that appeal to VIDA’s must-haves: a densely populated, downtown urban area, with a mixed-use of commercial and residential spaces, and highly educated, high annual household income (AHI) and health conscious professionals. Ballston is a bustling neighborhood of highly successful, highly social individuals who are already excited about VIDA’s arrival. The community has welcomed us with open arms even though we don’t open our doors for another 12 months.
CS: What will some of the facility’s highlights be? What can members expect from this new VIDA club?
AM: This club is the culmination of everything we’ve learned over the past 12 years and will represent the very best VIDA has to offer. We have 30,000 square feet of space over three distinct floors. The entry sequence will feature a truly welcoming experience for our members, where they are immediately greeted by both friendly faces and an exquisite design. There is a lot of energy on this floor by design, which also includes Aura spa, a co-working space for busy professionals, and our Fuel Bar concept with fresh smoothies along with healthy salads, sandwiches and wraps. This floor is at street level and members can either go up or down once they arrive at the monumental staircase.
Go down a level and you’ll find yourself exploring six distinct fitness studios (SweatBox, cycling, Pilates, group fitness, yoga and personal training), friendly staff to guide you and a locker room/changing area. Go up a level and you’ll find a balanced mix of the finest cardio equipment in the industry, an expansive free-weight area with plenty of open functional training space, and our spacious, well-appointed locker rooms offering rainfall showers, a steam room and a sauna.
CS: What’s your vision for VIDA moving forward? And how does this location help that vision?
AM: Our vision is to grow from the major player in Washington, D.C. to the premier fitness brand in the DMV area (DC, Maryland and Virginia). Our goal has always been to own our regional marketplace, and this expansion helps us do exactly that. We are simultaneously exploring other markets that match our demographics, meet related business needs and provide an opportunity for smart growth. We have real estate developers contacting us every week from across the country who are interested in leveraging VIDA to anchor various retail projects in fun urban neighborhoods.
It’s definitely an exciting time in our growth and we’ve assembled a tremendous team of people who truly buy in to our culture every day. Our people are the most critical factor to our success and without them, none of it would be possible.
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Bobby is the former assistant editor of Club Solutions Magazine.
