Gym to Take HOWS Market Spot
A branch of the 24 Hour Fitness chain is slated to open in NoHo Commons this summer.
When the HOWS Market at NoHo Commons closed in May 2010, some local residents and business owners hoped a lower-priced market would replace it. But the space will soon feature a 24 Hour Fitness center. The company received permits last week to begin renovation of a 43,000-square-foot facility to open this summer.
Choosing the type of new business for the space was a considered decision, said Eric Reuveni, president and CEO of Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate group, the broker representing the landlord.
“We did look at smaller markets, we talked to all of the potential players, including Trader Joe’s,” Reuveni said. “It was a hard sell for a supermarket after a supermarket didn’t succeed there.”
The new fitness center will enter a neighborhood that already has many options for staying healthy.
“I work out of a couple of private gyms right across the street from NoHo Commons,” said fitness coach and Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce former president Jack Witt. He added that the gym might not be a draw for many local residents: “I know that a lot of these new apartments and lofts have state-of-the-art fitness centers in them.”
While the center will be within a mile of several smaller and larger facilities, Witt does not believe it will pose competition to existing businesses.
His clients avoid bigger gyms like 24 Hour Fitness because they can be crowded, he said. Smaller centers and private clubs, he said, provide more personal attention, or unique classes like the Muay Thai boxing offered by At One Fitness.
Representatives from the new club agreed that they would fill a different need for the community, stressing the affordability of their clubs.
“24 Hour Fitness is committed to making fitness accessible and affordable to people of all ages and fitness levels,” Wendy Yellin, 24 Hour Fitness's senior director of public relations, stated in an e-mail.
The neighborhood is part of a redevelopment effort that includes the Gallery at Noho Commons, with 438 residential units, and the Lofts at Noho, which has 292. With so many new tenants nearby, the Chamber of Commerce hoped that a lower-priced grocery store would replace HOWS, Witt said. They were not alone.
Susanna Eng-Ziskin, who lives in North Hollywood and is a customer at other NoHo Commons businesses, said she “was hoping for a Fresh and Easy.”
NoHo Commons customer Bill White agreed. “Another grocer would have been good,” said White. Both area residents said that the prices at HOWS played a part in its failure to serve the needs of the community.
While a market might have been preferable to some, other nearby businesses will be happy to see a boost in foot traffic when the gym opens. PX Drugstore opened three months before the HOWS closed. HOWS customers often discovered the drugstore after they had shopped at the grocery store, said pharmacy clerk Yolanda Ortiz. She expects the same thing will happen when people finish up their workouts at the new gym. “Hopefully, we can help them with the diets they are put on,” Ortiz said.
Jean Jeunet
11:57 am on Monday, February 7, 2011
This looks like it's finally official. Very sad to see that it won't become a Trader Joe's. I consider myself a middle class guy, but HOWS was just too expensive. It has a nice ambience, but that didn't justify the price difference compared to Ralphs. I live right by NoHo Commons and now I'm still going to rely on driving to Ralphs (which is overcrowded). I was really hoping for a supermarket I could finally walk to.
Tiffany Morgan
4:27 pm on Monday, February 7, 2011
This is absolutely the saddest newest I've heard this year! There are gyms everywhere in the area, and most people who actually live in the area have gyms in their buildings already. What a waste of space! It's such a bummer Trader Joe's didn't snatch it up.
LABornAndRaised
8:46 pm on Monday, February 7, 2011
Better than an empty building I suppose, but it had so much more potential. I can't believe there's no competition for Ralph's. That store is always cram-packed. There's definitely the customer base to support another supermarket, just not at the price point of HOWS.
Sarah Barker
7:46 am on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Ditto to all! Quite frankly I had assumed that HOWS closed it's doors because they seemed to give preferential treatment to film shoots and their location needs. Every time I shopped at Hows (which was somewhat often) they would be filming some TV show there or another and essentially dominating the produce section. I suspect it was poor customer service and not it's "poor location" that ultimately doomed HOWS to fail. I'd positively love to see a Whole Foods in there. Thanks for the strong and well-researched piece!
Robyn
10:17 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I guess those of us who live North of Riverside Drive will have to continue driving to better alternatives to Rock-n-Roll Ralph's on Magnolia and Vallarta. Bummer. HOWs was beautiful but the prices were on par with Whole Foods minus the quality. Here's hoping that a future investor is intelligent enough to recognize the enormous need for an affordable and well maintained grocery store in our community.
John
1:38 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
I grew up in Riverside where even the Ralphs and Albertsons are first class; moving here 12 years ago I was shocked to find the supermarkets in the East Valley are distinctly third world, with very few exceptions. Even though Hows was aimed at a higher income bracket than mine, I paid the premium for all the things I used to take for granted - cleanliness, extended hours, etc. Being close to the Red Line was a huge plus for me personally since I don't own a car. Although there were troubling signs - empty aisles, rising prices, reduced hours and freshness problems when inventory failed to turn over - when Hows closed down I was taken by surprise. It's depressing to think that a place like Riverside which is probably most famous for it's meth labs can sustain decent markets, and we cannot. Like most of you, I've been holding my breath hoping that a TJs or Whole Foods would move in, or perhaps most ideally a Fresh & Easy; more than just another market, it would be a vote of confidence in NoHo revitalization and more broadly in the remaining pockets of decency in the East Valley. While I hope that it was only the criminally bass-ackward design of that building that kept them away, all the evidence I see daily paints a much darker picture.
J. Ryan
3:18 pm on Thursday, February 17, 2011
Ridiculous! What's the point of creating transit oriented space if I'm going to have to drive 3 miles to get to the nearest Trader Joe's or .5 for overpriced Ralphs? I dreamed just for a second, of a completely auto-free existence in Los Angeles. Now I'm shattered. Okay, okay, it's not that bad, but anyway...I'm disappointed.
Where is the logic in the statement that other grocers were discouraged because "a supermarket did not succeed here?" Someone did a poor job of selling the space to potential stores. Hows all but went out of business (one store is still open)! That sounds more like the results of a combination of poor management and a rough economy than issues with one location.
Honestly, for an area to succeed and to break away--and if it really is meant to begin serving the area as a "transit village"--there needs to be a market / grocery store. Ouch. From all perspectives, this is a step in the wrong direction.
- j
Joanna
8:42 pm on Thursday, February 17, 2011
Worst. News. Ever.
yo
12:03 pm on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
I live in Sherman Oaks and the 24 Hour Fitness in Sherman Oaks is too small. And not so up to date equipment, Compare to some of the new 24 Hour gyms. I look forward to traveling to NoHo. Yes, it would have been easier to go to Trader Joe's once exiting trains and railways. But, that would have taken away from the other Trader J's in the area. It is all about convenience. The students at the new Art Institute adjacent, now have the often working out, taking a shower, after or before class. Welcome to the new earth . Convenience.