LA Fitness Health Club Closing One Lakeland Store

LAKELAND | L.A. Fitness is closing its gym near downtown Lakeland, and with it will go a little piece of health club history.

The gym at 933 E. Lemon St. will shut down at the end of the month, an employee said Wednesday. No reason was given for the closure, and L.A. Fitness did not respond to requests for comment.

Employees at the two other L.A. Fitness locations in South Lakeland and Winter Haven said those gyms have no plans to close.

The East Lemon Street facility was among those acquired by L.A. Fitness last year when the chain bought the remaining gyms operated by St. Petersburg-based Lifestyle Family Fitness.

Lifestyle began in 1982 at the East Lemon Street address. Founder Geoff Dyer chose Lakeland to start his business because he viewed it as a small city with little competition from other gyms, according to a 2007 Ledger interview. At its peak, Lifestyle had 55 clubs and about 200,000 members in four states.

"I'll continue to have a special place in my heart for that club" on East Lemon Street, Dyer told The Ledger in June 2012, after the sale to L.A. Fitness was announced.

Stephanie McMichael, who just recently joined the downtown gym, said she'll miss its pool.

"I like it here. I'm a little saddened they're going to close this location," she said Wednesday. "A lot of the members are really sad this is closing."

[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]