advertisement

Palatine advisory panel backs health club in former Dominick's store

A Palatine advisory panel has endorsed plans for a health club to occupy part of a shuttered Dominick's Finer Foods.

Crunch Fitness would redevelop about 21,000 square feet of the 56,000-square-foot Dominick's on the northeast corner of Euclid Avenue and Quentin Road that was part of an overall chain shutdown in December 2013.

Palatine zoning board of appeals members Tuesday night voted in favor of granting a special-use permit allowing a health club in the building and other approvals Crunch Fitness needs to operate at Regency Plaza. The village council, which gets the final say, is expected to consider the Crunch Fitness request Tuesday, Feb. 20.

"I think this will be a great use of this space," zoning board of appeals member Cindy Roth-Wurster said.

John Roberts, who would own the Crunch Fitness franchise, said he projects at least 5,000 members and about $2 million in annual revenue for the business. He said the added foot traffic would boost the mall.

"Our goal is to provide a clean, safe, affordable fitness center to the residents of Palatine and the surrounding areas," Roberts told the zoning board of appeals at Tuesday's public hearing.

Crunch Fitness plans to offer cardio and weight-training equipment. There also would be areas for stretching, aerobics, yoga and cross-training.

In addition, the facility would have tanning beds and hydro-massage equipment.

Roberts said he expects to have four full-time employees and at least 20 part-time workers. Crunch Fitness would join True Value Hardware, Hair Cuttery and Salon Elite and Spa at Regency Plaza.

Towns have had varying degrees of success in filling vacant Dominick's stores over the past four years.

For example, Dominick's became occupied by Mariano's Fresh Market in Gurnee and by Jewel-Osco in Lake Zurich. Carpentersville, Schaumburg and Lake in the Hills are among the suburbs that still have empty Dominick's stores.

Hobby Lobby moved from Northwest Highway into a chunk of the Dominick's at Deer Grove Crossing Shopping Center on Dundee Road in Palatine in 2016.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.