The long-vacant Borders store in east Vancouver is slated to become the first Clark County location for Crunch Fitness. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
There are signs of life at the former Borders bookstore in east Vancouver. New York-based fitness company Crunch Fitness may move into the space.
Damion Clanton, a partner with the gym, confirmed last week Crunch has signed a lease agreement with property owners TMT Development. Terms were not disclosed, but Clanton called it “a fair deal.”
Barring any hiccups in the permitting process, the gym could open around spring, Clanton said.
The gym would be the first tenant at the space near Southeast 164th Avenue and Mill Plain Boulevard since Borders folded in 2011. The company was once the second-largest book retailer in the U.S. until it was hobbled during the recession and further undone by the rise of Amazon and e-readers like the Kindle. Four hundred stores, including Vancouver’s, shuttered that year.
The space has gone mostly unused for the five-plus years, except for a seasonal Halloween store. TMT Development said the space was an odd fit for many potential suitors.
“At 18,000 square feet, it’s too small for a T.J. Maxx or a Marshall’s or a crafts store like Jo-Ann’s, but it’s too big for a restaurant or bar,” said company president and CEO Vanessa Sturgeon. She said TMT nearly landed a tenant on a dozen occasions, but the potential suitors — often restaurants — found the space was too big.
Neighbor Shareefah Hoover was elated with the development.
“Finally! I’ve long wanted to see this valuable space rented — ever since Borders’ heartbreaking departure from the neighborhood,” she wrote in an email. “Hopefully this will mark a step in the right direction for the residents, the surrounding businesses and the area as a whole.”
There may be more Crunch Fitness locations coming to the area. Clanton said the company is looking for a second site along Mill Plain Boulevard and a third west of Interstate 5. Overall, he said Crunch would like to offer eight or 10 locations in the region.
Crunch has three locations in the Portland metro area and 185 total in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Australia.
When asked what the fitness company found appealing in Vancouver, Clanton said, “the schools out there, the amount of plots for houses being built there, I think is fabulous.”
Construction crews will have to gut the interior and rebuild in order to convert the former bookstore into a workout space, which demands wide-open floor plans and strong air flow, he said.
