The hope apparently is that some 9000 folks in and around Abington, Jenkintown and Cheltenham will be drawn to greater fitness. Or maybe away from other gyms?
Without fanfare, the signs were up by December 6 announcing the opening of the new L.A. Fitness at the corner where Wharton Road meets the transition from Rices Mill to Highland, a blink away from Jenkintown Road’s intersection with Baeder Road. This is the ground of the old Williard building, and where residents later opposed development proposals for a supermarket.
An official grand opening is expected to take place sometime around December 15-18, according to Manager Jay Palermo, who comes to the Abington site from the corporation’s Allentown operations.
In the meantime, the gym is open on a modified schedule for preview. On the weekday morning of my visit, the class schedule and phone links to the Healthy Lifestyles program weren’t yet up or running. However, the pool hosted a couple of lap swimmers and the fresh equipment was getting a workout by a steady stream of about 35 bodies. A tiny sampling of those suggested the gym was drawing local L.A. Fitness members who’d been trekking out to the Fort Washington and were delighted to have a facility closer to their residences.
Rasheed Jenkins is Assistant Manager of the Training Department. Among other duties, he helps coordinate assessments to link members with personal trainers. He said he especially enjoys training because of “the response I get when people see themselves getting healthier. It’s great when they see themselves reaching their goals.”
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