Fitness News

Life Time fitness chain to open first-of-its-kind athletic resort in Frisco

They're working on their deltoids and triceps.

Photo courtesy of Life Time

Frisco is getting a Life Time of its own: Life Time, the Minnesota-based chain of health clubs, is opening facility in early 2022 off Legacy Drive, just west of the Dallas North Tollway, that a release promises will be a "first-of-its-kind athletic resort" in Frisco.

Life Time Frisco will cover more than 16 acres with a 2-story, 124,000-square-foot building; an additional 30,000-square-foot outdoor beach club; and 10 outdoor tennis and eight pickleball courts.

The facility will serve virtually all ages, we're talking 9 months to 90+, from a Kids Academy to programming for active agers — their nice way of saying "senior citizens"; Midwesterners are always so nice.

For the spry generations in between, they'll have barre, cardio & strength group classes, indoor cycling, Pilates, and yoga.

More than 400 pieces of cardio, strength, and functional training equipment will fill the exercise floor, which also includes space for smaller group training programs taught by certified trainers with programs focusing on strength, endurance, and athletic functional movements.

Amenities include:

Kids Academy featuring dedicated Kids Studio classes, sports training through GameFace Sport, Spanish immersion, homework help, outdoor play area, and Kids Gym (for kids starting at 3 months and for up to 2.5 hours daily)
LT Recovery, a space for athletic performance and recovery featuring metabolic assessments, nutrition coaching, sports & athletic recovery treatments, and chiropractic & physical therapy care
LifeSpa, full-service salon and spa services, including hair, nail, esthetician, and massage
LifeCafe, a wholesome, real-food cafe with indoor and outdoor dining
Outdoor Beach Club with cabana and lounge seating, indoor aquatic center with leisure and lap pools, two regulation-size basketball courts with Ultimate Hoops leagues & skills training, dressing rooms, whirlpool & cold plunge suites

Life Time — which used to be called Life Time Fitness until a name change in 2017 — currently operates 10 Life Time locations in Dallas-Fort Worth. By square footage, the new Frisco location will come in pretty high, with only Allen and Mansfield bigger at 129,000 square feet each. In comparison, inner-city locations such as Addison and Highland Park are under 70,000 square feet. The 'burbs get more room, but remember, the 'burbs don't have easy access to the sophisticated mix of goods and services one enjoys in Dallas proper.

The health club world really took a hit from the pandemic, but Lance Miller, who is Dallas' area director for Life Time says that the industry has seen a big comeback. Life Time was lucky that none of its 150+ locations closed; in fact, the company opened seven clubs in 2021 including one at GreenStreet in Houston.

They also launched a variety of remote services such as on-demand and livestream classes and virtual personal training.

"There’s no denying the impact this pandemic has had on many industries and certainly health clubs were dramatically impacted during the time of closure," Miller says. "But our members returned to our clubs and new members have continued to join. During these months, it’s been reenforced that people crave the in-person community they have at Life Time, while appreciating the flexibility of livestream classes and other ways to stay engaged when getting to Life Time isn't in the cards."

Frisco is one of more than 10 new Life Time resorts to open in 2022. They've set up a Preview Center, now open at 4913 Throne Hall Dr. where they're laying out exclusive founding membership opportunities Monday-Thursday 9 am-8 pm and Friday-Sunday 9 am-6 pm.

Thrifty shopping

Massive Goodwill store in Garland reopens as 2nd largest in the U.S.

Photo courtesy of Goodwill

The Goodwill in Garland is the largest in Texas.

A major expansion has made a Garland Goodwill store nearly the largest of its kind in the country. Goodwill Industries of Dallas officially reopened its "Broadway store," at 451 W. Interstate 30 #100, on April 30 after a major renovation. The new-and-improved store is twice its previous size.

According to a release, at 31,000 square feet, the Broadway Store and Donation Center is now the largest Goodwill in Texas and the second largest in the U.S.

The expansion will significantly boost inventory turnover. According to the organization, the store will introduce about 10,000 new items daily, including clothing, home goods, and accessories. At that pace, inventory cycles through the store roughly every four weeks, they say.

“Our newly expanded Garland store sets the gold standard for Goodwill in Texas — not only as our largest location, but as our most operationally complex,” says Tim Heis, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Dallas, in the release. “Turning out 10,000 fresh items every single day requires a tremendous, coordinated effort behind the scenes to make sure our shelves are always stocked with new finds."

The reopening comes amid "explosive growth" in the resale sector, Goodwill says. A 2024 report from ThredUp found that the U.S. secondhand market grew 11 percent in 2023 (growing seven times faster than the broader retail clothing sector) and is projected to reach $73 billion by 2028.

“As consumers are increasingly turning to resale for its affordability, unique product variety, and positive environmental impact, the new Garland store redefines what’s possible — every visit promises one of the widest, most frequently refreshed selections anywhere in North Texas,” says Joel Ibanez, vice president, Donated Goods Retail.

To support its larger retail footprint and meet demand, Goodwill Dallas has also expanded its donation network, they say, opening new Donation Express locations in Frisco, Plano, and Lantana in recent months and bringing the total number of donation drop off locations in North Texas to 52.

The Garland store includes a drive-up donation center, and additional sites are in development across North Texas, they say.

"Over the past two years, Goodwill Dallas has experienced record-breaking performance, earning recognition as the top performing Goodwill in the country for two consecutive years," they say in the release.

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