Vacant big-box retail has become one of the fitness industry’s biggest real estate opportunities and VASA Fitness is leaning into that for its growth strategy.
Chris Tarrant, the chief growth officer for VASA, joined Club Solutions Magazine editor and podcast host Taylor Gabhart to discuss VASA’s adaptive reuse strategy, including how a Kmart redevelopment in Colorado Springs sparked surrounding investment, why fitness clubs outperform traditional retail tenants on dwell time and visit frequency and what developers should prioritize when negotiating new anchor-tenant details.
With VASA on pace to open roughly 35 clubs over the next two years, the conversation gives operators a real-world look at positioning fitness as an indispensable co-tenant in today’s retail landscape. Tarrant’s approach offers a clear framework for converting empty square footage into long-term member and landlord value.
Show Notes:
- At 0:30, Tarrant traces his path to VASA, detailing his 35-plus years in retail development and how two and a half years on VASA’s board led directly to his appointment as chief growth officer.
- Tarrant explains why adaptive reuse of vacant big-box retail works for VASA at 3:08, noting that roughly 95% of its clubs sit in existing retail buildings and nearly 70 of them former big-box spaces with substantial square footage and building visibility.
- At 4:35, Tarrant breaks down how fitness clubs outpace traditional big-box and grocery tenants on dwell time and visit frequency, driving co-tenancy demand from massage, physiotherapy and healthy fast-casual brands.
- Tarrant cites VASA’s Colorado Springs Kmart redevelopment as proof that a fitness anchor can catalyze surrounding investment, pointing to new hospitality and dining tenants that followed at 6:25.
- At 8:15, Tarrant outlines VASA’s site-selection process, from legacy markets like Utah, Colorado and Illinois to emerging markets such as Indiana and Wisconsin.
- Tarrant advises operators on navigating landlord relationships, including how VASA works around legacy restrictive covenants that historically barred fitness tenants at 12:30.
- At 15:50, Tarrant urges developers building new space to plan early for fitness specific requirements like capacity and layout before finalizing deals.
- Lastly, at 16:36, Tarrant shares VASA’s growth trajectory: 16 new clubs this year and 19 next year.
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