L.A. Fitness to build gym in West Dundee

This time next year, West Dundee fitness buffs will have the option of pumping iron in a new, state-of-the-art gym.

L.A. Fitness plans to build a gym in the space that was once home to Toys R Us near Spring Hill Mall, said Cathleen Tymoszenko, the village’s community development director.

L.A. Fitness intends to purchase, then raze the existing 40,000-square-foot building and erect its own that will be 35,000 square feet. The building has been largely vacant, except the times it housed a temporary Halloween store.

Construction begins in April and is expected to last nine months.

“The footprint will be smaller and will have less bulk on (Route) 31,” Tymoszenko said. “It’ll be a little bit taller, the parking will be set back, there will be additional landscaping.”

Ever since Toys R Us closed in 2009 and moved to Algonquin Commons on Randall Road, West Dundee leaders have been working to bring L.A. Fitness to that particular spot on Route 31, just north of Route 72.

“It’s a really great fit for the regular mall area,” Tymoszenko said. “ ... They bring people to the ... area to work out and people have a need to shop and use the restaurants, so it’ll be very complementary.”

Talks continued for two years while West Dundee tried to work with developers who had plans to retrofit the current building or build a new one. When those plans fell through, L.A. Fitness decided to complete it themselves, Tymoszenko said.

An L.A. Fitness spokesman did not respond to an email Thursday.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of fitness options in West Dundee.

There’s Snap Fitness of Route 72, west of Randall Road, and Curves near Spring Hill Mall. The Randall Oaks Recreation Center, now under construction, will also feature a gym, and there is a Fitness Advantage 24/7 just to the south of the mall property on Route 72 in Sleepy Hollow.