Property investors set to flex their muscles as fitness centre building comes up for sale
The land and building housing Rotorua’s newest 24-hour fitness studio and gym’ have been placed on the market for sale.
The Flex Fitness gym at 346 – 352 Te Ngae Road is a 503 square metre building on the city’s eastern boundary, and is
part of the newly-constructed Lynmore Junction development which incorporates Motion Entertainment – the largest indoor
entertainment mall of its kind in New Zealand.
Flex Fitness has just signed a new eight-year lease on the freehold Te Ngae Road property which has an industrial 1E
zoning. The lease runs through until 2025 and has two further three-year rights of renewal. The property generates a
return of $94,181 + GST per annum.
The premises are being marketed for sale at auction on November 9 by Bayleys Rotorua. Salesperson Beth Millard said
Rotorua Council’s industrial 1E zoning for tenancies within Lynmore Junction allowed for a mix of light industrial and
commercial activities dependent on high traffic flows – providing an amenity buffer between the entrance to the city and
its outer urban boundary.
Flex Fitness is one of the top three 24-hour gym’ operators in New Zealand. Flex Fitness currently has 16 locations
throughout the country, with a further eight venues planned to open by the end of the year.
Ms Millard said the evolution of 24 hour/seven days-a-week fitness studios was the latest progression for the sector –
which first emerged with traditional large gym’s based in central city commercial property locations, then developed to
feature light industrial suburban sites focusing on high intensity fitness codes such as cross-fit and box-fit.
“As society has changed and morphed, people are now working irregular hours and shifts where they may not necessarily be
able to attend fitness classes at set times. As a consequence, they are now seeking the freedom of training to their own
schedule – and the prevalence of 24-hour gyms has been the resulting answer to their demands,” Ms Millard said.
Statistics from the Exercise Association of New Zealand show that 15.6 percent of the country’s population belong to a
gym’ or attend fitness classes. The $494 million sector employs 6,700 people.
Association chief executive Richard Beddle said: “The fitness sectors is still in growth mode. It has grown on average
6.5 percent annually since 2010 and even during the recession was growing by about two percent.”
The Flex Fitness unit in Te Ngae Road features a concrete tilt-slab construction around steel framing. The high stud
ceiling supported by steel beams features an exposed air movement ducting system - portraying a modern industrial-chic
ambience to the main work out area which contains both free weights stations and machine fitness equipment.
Ms Millard said the front of the property had been purposely designed to maximise efficient use of the available space.
Adjacent to the main gym’ facility, the interior of the property contained separate male/female toilets and full
bathroom amenities for use by patrons.
“The Flex Fitness premises have access to shared vehicle parking immediately outside the front door, across a sealed and
landscaped courtyard. Complimentary retailers are currently in tenancy negotiations to occupy the surrounding vacant
units – enhancing Lynmore Junction’s reputation as the city’s foremost all-weather entertainment and recreation
destination,” Ms Millard said.
ENDS