Luxury Gyms and Boutique Studios Are Taking Over Vacant Storefronts
Empty storefronts across Los Angeles are finding new life as fitness centers, as national gym chains and boutique studios expand into former retail spaces once dominated by fashion and dining.
Recent lease data show that fitness operators are emerging as major players in the region’s commercial real estate market. Equinox and Royal Personal Training have signed some of the largest retail leases in Los Angeles this year, according to CoStar.
Royal Personal Training is relocating from a 7,000-square-foot location in Beverly Hills to a new 30,000-square-foot space at 639 North La Peer Drive in West Hollywood, part of a mixed-use complex featuring valet parking and luxury amenities, scheduled for summer 2026. In Beverly Grove, Gold’s Gym recently debuted a 33,000-square-foot ground-floor facility inside the Beverly Center, signaling renewed confidence in the city’s fitness sector. By comparison, most Los Angeles gym leases average 5,000 square feet, CoStar reported.
The surge follows a turbulent period for the industry. Gyms were among the hardest hit businesses during the pandemic, when closures and health restrictions cut into memberships. Now, demand has not only recovered but surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Membership nationwide reached a record 77 million last year, up from 72.9 million in 2023, according to the Health & Fitness Association. Visits in the first half of 2025 were 3.5% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the shift is helping backfill vacant space across the city. Retail vacancy in Los Angeles rose to 5.6% in the second quarter, according to Kidder Mathews, but fitness operators are taking advantage of larger, well-located spaces once reserved for apparel or department stores.