Retro Fitness, West Palm Beach, Florida, has opened four health clubs in the Dallas area as the first in Texas for the company and as the first in its Project LIFT initiative, the company announced Jan. 12.
The initiative seeks to open 500 health clubs in 50 Black and Brown communities across the country during the next five years.
BlackRock's Impact Opportunities Fund and James Collins, managing partner of Eastwood Capital Partners, together have committed to developing a minimum of 80 Retro Fitness Health Clubs in four regions in the country, the largest deal yet for Retro Fitness. These four clubs in Texas are the first to open as part of that partnership under the Project LIFT initiative.
“It has been extremely gratifying working with the Retro Fitness team and seeing the first health club locations under its Project LIFT initiative come to life,” Collins said in the announcement. “I'm excited to see the positive impact we make with these first locations in the greater Dallas area, and I'm even more excited to continue my partnership with the Retro Fitness team as we open more health clubs for local communities to benefit from, in more ways than one.”
Project LIFT investors receive a waived franchise fee and 50 percent off year one royalties. Additionally, Retro Fitness is donating a percentage of its royalties back to an organization within the community for the life of the business. This initiative further supports Retro Fitness' commitment to making a lasting, profound impact on the health club industry and the communities in which they serve.
Retro Fitness is a high-volume, low-priced club franchisor with more than 200 health clubs open or in development across the country. More expansion is underway in Texas with 30 more clubs in development in the state, not all of which are part of the Project LIFT initiative.