PALM BEACH GARDENS – A resort-style health club with exercise classes, spa services and a rooftop bistro is coming to Downtown at the Gardens.
City Council on Thursday approved an application by ShopCore Properties, which owns and operates the outdoor shopping and entertainment center, to build a three-story, 117,000-square-foot Life Time Athletic facility and 426-space parking lot on the north side of the 49 acre site.
In a 4-0 vote – Vice Mayor Rachelle Litt was absent – council members agreed to allow three waivers and also approved a site plan amendment and a planned community development amendment for the proposed development , which is expected to open in 2021.
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The Life Time Athletic facility would be built on the southwest corner of Gardens Parkway and Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, adjacent to the Cobb Theatre. The new parking garage would be constructed west of the health club facility at the southeast corner of Alternate A1A and Gardens Parkway.
The buildings will be connected by decorative cobblestones and to the main downtown Gardens Center by lighted crosswalks, according to city documents.
“Downtown at the Gardens is a location that excites us as a development, meeting the changing needs of consumers by creating exciting new spaces,” said Parham Javaheri, executive vice president of real estate and development at Life Time, in a press release. The weather will bring a whole new experience to the region with our sports lifestyle resort designed to meet the health and wellness needs of every age group,” he said.
The facility would include traditional health club amenities/uses such as weight training, basketball and exercise classes; salon and spa services, including hair styling, manicures and massages; wellness services such as yoga, nutrition and personal trainers; a children’s area; a sauna and hot tub; and a “resort” style rooftop terrace with swimming pools, cabana and bistro.
The first floor would also include a café and a café-bar with a terrace.
“It’s fabulous,” said board member Maria Marino. “Between studio classes and a kids’ academy, gym, pool, cafe, spa, Life Time workspace and Life Time Living, it ticks many boxes that are important to the urban core of ‘a town.”
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Life Time Athletic operates another Palm Beach County facility on Yamato Road in Boca Raton.
Also Thursday:
• The board gave final approval to a 20,000 square foot expansion of the existing Costco store on Northlake Boulevard as well as a 12-pump gas station. The final vote was 3 to 1, with council member Matthew Lane voting against the project. He expressed concerns about the size of the gas station and the amount of traffic it would generate, and asked to table the proposal for a month to allow more expert testimony.
• Council unanimously approved a site plan for a community pavilion and recreational facility in Avenir. The 12,087 square foot pavilion would include an indoor gym, aerobics room, locker room, event room, kitchen and cafe. The outdoor recreation facility would include eight tennis courts, six pickleball courts, two playgrounds, a swimming pool, a lap pool and a wading pool.
• Council gave initial approval to an application by Eastwind Development to alter the 13.58-acre downtown site on PGA Boulevard and US 1 to allow for a mix of residential and commercial development. The developer wishes to construct a 136-unit multi-family building on the site with a labor housing component.
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