Nearly two months after closing its doors, Princeton Athletic Club will reopen next year under the ownership of former landlord Schlesinger Companies, according to Mark Schlesinger, the firm's partner and senior property manager.
The Portland-based developer bought the club's equipment at auction on Dec. 2 from Wells Fargo Bank, the lender that shuttered the property and took control of its assets earlier this year after Princeton's former owner, David Lawson of Vancouver, failed to modify terms on a loan.
Lawson sent out notices on Oct. 30 that Princeton would be closing its doors at 8 p.m. that evening, stunning longtime club members who made the 27-year-old facility a downtown Vancouver fitness mainstay.
Russell Dyer, who along with wife Michele sold Princeton to Lawson in October 2007, contacted former members last week to gauge their interest in possibly rejoining the club. Reached earlier this week, Dyer said he made the phone calls on behalf of Schlesinger and that he had no part in a deal to repurchase the club.
Lawson also has been reaching out to his former customers on behalf of Schlesinger. "I'm not getting anything out of it," he said. "I'm just helping the members get their club back."
Even with the decision to reopen the business seemingly a done deal, it's still unclear exactly how many former Princeton members will be on board to join the reopened facility with the same fitness equipment, under new ownership.
At least one former member, who wished to remain anonymous, took issue with what he saw as Dyer's involvement in Princeton's reopening. "Selling high and pushing out someone because they couldn't pay rent and buying low are all legal," he said. "[But] what went on here doesn't make me feel too good about rejoining."
At the time of the 2007 sale, both parties declined to disclose the price for the business, located on the ground floor of the Schlesinger-owned Bank of America Financial Center on Main Street.
Now unemployed and still in debt, Lawson said he declined an offer made by Schlesinger Companies to operate the club on their behalf. "It's not the right move for me right now," Lawson said.
For their part, Schlesinger seemed certain of his company's decision to revive Princeton, despite a crowded fitness market, including nearby NW Personal Training, L.A. Fitness and a soon-to-be expanded and relocated Accel Human Performance.
An opening date for the club will be announced shortly, he said.
