Equinox Fitness Club
Secured Equinox's first Texas location — a long-term ground lease of the former Park Place Motorcars site at Oak Lawn and Avondale, just south of Highland Park.
Equinox Fitness Clubs retained The Retail Connection to find a prime high-impact location to open their first Texas operation. The result was a long-term ground lease of the former Park Place Motorcars site owned by The Hillcrest Foundation and located at the northwest corner of Avondale and Oak Lawn Avenue, just south of Highland Park.
The owners, represented by Venture Commercial leased the property to Equinox Fitness Clubs which operates 41 fitness centers in high profile markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and South Beach. Equinox now calls this Dallas site their "Flagship" location.
Equinox viewed this site as a unique opportunity to serve a variety of markets in central Dallas. The Retail Connection's research division proved the market was underserved and offered several opportunities for making this a prime location for an upscale fitness center.
The former automobile facility was completely rebuilt. The end result is a striking contrast to the original tenant but representative of the affluent and progressive surrounding marketplace and residential areas. Equinox brought in internationally acclaimed architects to create a very special look and feel. Within the 58,000 SF redevelopment, of which Equinox occupies approximately 41,000 SF, there is an additional 17,000 SF of upscale retail and restaurant space.
One of the primary challenges of this transaction was locating a large enough space in an area with the demographics Equinox desired. This site is situated in an area defined by significant household incomes along a major thoroughfare and commands remarkable street front presence in the Oaklawn market.