Life Time Fitness in early 2001 had an Austin site under contract, but then punted on the plan. "For a number of reasons, we properly decided not to proceed in Austin," a Life Time Fitness contact explains to GlobeSt.com. The fitness chain, known for its high-end delivery, will have multiple centers in Texas, but the locations fall in the "to be determined" category at this point. The chain spends about $18 million to $20 million, including land, on a fitness center.

Life Time Fitness' first Texas center will go up on the northeast corner of Legacy and Preston. The Henry S. Miller Commercial team of Sam Kartalis, president, and Jim Turano, senior vice president, brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, Breeze Texas Inc. while United Commercial Realty's Thurston Witt and Stan Lotteridge bargained for Life Time Fitness. Witt says the chain is talking about "two or three" locations in Dallas-Fort Worth, but adds that's over the long term.

"They thought the demographics of this site is one of the best sites they've seen in the US," Witt says of the decision to go ahead at 7100 Preston Rd. Life Time Fitness hopes to break ground in the coming weeks, with fall 2003 penciled in for a grand opening.

A city official says the final building plan has yet to be received--a must-have before the permit is passed out. Still, he says, it's just a matter of fine-tuning the proposal since it carries such strong local support.

Kartalis says the corner is by far "the best piece of property in Dallas." Had it been zoned retail, it would have sold "10 times over," he explains. But, that's not the case and Plano stuck by its guns on the office zoning. The fitness chain's two-story design of 109,000 sf has the look of an office building and is put together so that a conversion, if necessary down the road, is easily doable, says Kartalis. That design won Plano's nod.

Kartalis predicts the fitness center, though, is destined for success given its proximity to the Crystal Creek 200-lot development, other single-family projects and a 30-acre retail and commercial tract under the control of Breeze Texas, a joint venture backed mostly with Florida money. In fact, one tract--four acres--will be closing in two weeks in a deal with a mini-storage developer. Also on the table for discussion is a retail center.

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