New Club Features Are Gym-Dandy -- Flourishing Fitness Centers Feature Longer Hours, Massages - And Food

The days when a health club meant a room, a few barbells and a treadmill are over.

In order to stay alive, today's clubs will have you climbing the walls, getting a massage or coming in at all hours of the night.

On the Eastside alone, prospective members can find everything from smoothie bars and health-focused bistros to dance lessons, nursery care, even an on-site acupuncturist.

Dan Lehr knows how cutthroat the fitness industry can be.

Five years ago, he bought the near-bankrupt Redmond Athletic Center (RAC), with dreams of converting it into a full-service club.

Originally located in a 14,000-square-foot facility off of Redmond Way, Lehr moved the RAC to a 30,000 square-foot building near the Bella Bottega Shopping Center in June.

Besides a 17,000-square-foot climbing wall, racquetball courts and a "spinning studio" with 20 stationary bikes, RAC also boasts an on-site acupuncturist and chiropractors.

"The best way to retain members is to get them involved," Lehr said, explaining his reason for incorporating so many activities at RAC.

The changes have bumped RAC's membership from 395 to 3,000 over the past five years.

According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, 22.5 million Americans were health-club members in 1997 - a 63 percent increase over 1987. They belong to more than 14,000 health clubs, including YMCAs and community centers.

On the Eastside, fitness seekers can choose from 36 health

clubs, five more than a decade ago. Monthly membership fees can range from $20 to more than $100, with many clubs charging initial sign-up fees as well.

One of the Eastside's largest clubs, Pro Sports Club on the fringes of North Bellevue, has seen the evolution of the fitness industry first hand.

The 35,000-square-foot facility opened in 1973 as the Super Sonics Racquet Club, one of eight indoor tennis clubs in the country operated by First Northwest Industries, then the parent company of the Seattle SuperSonics.

President Dick Knight said the concept of health clubs was unheard of at the time.

Twenty-one years, a change of ownership and millions of dollars later, the club has grown from a staff of three to 300 and membership has jumped from about 500 to 10,000.

Besides the latest cardiovascular equipment, two swimming pools, two basketball courts and a dancing studio, the 142,000-square-foot facility offers physical therapy and 11 masseuses.

Pro Club also boasts the Courtside Bistro, a casual diner that offers low-fat and healthy dishes. Many patients from the club's 20/20 lifestyles program, an obesity-treatment center, frequent the bistro.

"I remember when the tennis courts were covered in green carpet and there were only three showers in the women's locker room," said Ann Beaty, a club member since 1980.

Beaty acknowledged the amenities don't come cheap - an individual membership is $101 per month - but the choices make the expense worthwhile, she said.

At Bellevue's 24-hour Fitness club, you won't see a restaurant or rock-climbing wall, but members have all-day, every-day access to the club's facilities.

Formerly Hart's Gym, the Bel-Red Road club was bought out in October by the national chain that gambled there were enough Eastside people with odd schedules to use a 24-hour club.

General Manager Mike Estes estimates that at any given hour (except for a lull between 2-4 a.m.) there are about 150 people in the 40,000-square-foot building.

With 284 clubs nationwide, including 10 in the Puget Sound region, 24-hour Fitness is one of the fastest-growing fitness chains in the United States.

Redmond insurance salesman Harold Woods said his sporadic schedule has brought him to the gym as early as 5:30 a.m. and as late as 11:30 p.m.

Retail extra:

-- Macerich, the new owner of Redmond Town Center, has named Julia Ladd to manage the still-growing shopping center. Ladd, one of Macerich's top managers, currently runs Valley View Center, a 1.6-million-square-foot mall in Dallas. A 15-year veteran of the industry, she will split her time between Redmond and Dallas during a two-to-three-month transition. One of the most important questions Ladd will face is what to do with the block that is unoccupied except for REI. The developer and former owner of Town Center, Safeco's Winmar Properties, had not decided whether to build a mix of retail and office uses or bring in a department store . . .

-- La Tavola Ceramica's Bellevue Square store has won the single-unit category of Chain Store Age Magazine's 1998 Retail Store of the Year design competition. Smash Design of Seattle designed the locally owned store, which carries brightly colored majolica-style ceramics. . . .

-- Wild Caper Cafe is to open in Factoria Mall in mid-May. Operated by Jerry Greiff, owner of the Roasted Pepper Cafe in Seattle, it will feature American food and pizzas with a Mediterranean and Asian touch. . . . Speaking of Factoria Mall, there's still no confirmation or denial of rumors that major new tenants will include Barnes & Noble, Old Navy and Bed Bath & Beyond. . . .

-- Woodinville's Hollywood Schoolhouse, a popular site for weddings, gets another matrimonial use next week: The Wedding Place, a one-stop shopping center for wedding needs.

- By Keith Ervin Shop Talk appears on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.