Anytime Fitness Eyes Silver Spring Storefront

Anytime Fitness is considering buying the current Elements East space, but first the local franchise owner needs assurance that he will be able to operate at the expanded hours on which the 24-hour fitness club has built its business.

True to his franchise's name, John Mathie said Anytime Fitness is typically open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

has franchises in Shorewood at Oakland Avenue and Capitol Drive, on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee and in Wauwatosa and Germantown.

The club reduced its hours to open in Shorewood, which has a similar zoning code as Whitefish Bay. The Shorewood location is open to members 5 a.m. to 1 a.m every day.

Under the Whitefish Bay zoning code, the club would only be able to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which Mathie said would not be acceptable.

"Six a.m. isn't early enough," he said at a Plan Commission meeting Tuesday night. "Even 5 a.m. isn't early enough."

Village President Julie Siegel supported the expanded hours. She said opens at 6 a.m. and people are usually waiting outside of the doors in the morning.

"I think there's definitely a demand for the early hours," Siegel said.

The only other fitness club on Silver Spring Drive is .

Addressing concerns about security at a 24-hour facility, Mathie said all of the Milwaukee-area clubs are locked, even during staffed daytime hours. Anytime Fitness members access the building with a special key, and new visitors can buzz a doorbell to enter during the day. The club also has video surveillance, personal security devices and other security features, as well.

"I had concerns about (security), too, getting into the business five years ago, but it has really worked quite well nationally and internationally," he said. "We're not a breeding ground for crime. We don't have cash. The doors are always locked. We have a pretty high-tech security system to monitor, even two people coming in at once."

The Plan Commission approved the fitness club's conditional use permit Tuesday night and recommended the Village Board make a special exception for the club to operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., mimicking the hours of the Shorewood location. The board is expected to address the issue at its next meeting on Aug. 1.

If the purchasing deal is finalized, Mathie said Anytime Fitness would only use the 5,100-square-foot portion of the storefront at 109 E. Silver Spring Dr. currently utilized by Elements East. The other space, used by a spa, would be leased out, Mathie said.