Village Board Grants Expanded Hours to Anytime Fitness

The Whitefish Bay Village Board Monday granted Anytime Fitness an exception to operate outside of the village's standard retail hours, meaning the fitness franchise will move forward with the purchase of the current Elements East building at 109 E. Silver Spring Dr.

Under the Whitefish Bay zoning code, the club would only be able to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which franchise owner John Mathie said would not be acceptable. The Village Board agreed in a 6-1 vote to allow the business to operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m every day, which came on a .

In addition to the , Anytime Fitness also has franchises on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee and in Wauwatosa and Germantown.

The village currently has four fitness facilities, three of which are personal trainer facilities that may not be affected by the new business. The fourth facility is the .

Trustee James Roemer, who cast the only opposing vote, said the village labored at length to arrive at the hours for the JCC, posing a potential competitive disadvantage.

In a memo, Assistant Village Manager Matt Schuenke said an increase in hours at the JCC could present a problem with the neighbors and user limits at the exercise facility.

Roemer also voiced concerns about security, as well as setting a precedent for other businesses that want to open outside of the conventional village hours.

If Anytime Fitness moves forward with the purchase of the building, Elements East co-owner Alicia Urban said they would have to move out of the current space by December, when its lease ends. The business, which specializes in art, furniture and other accessories from Asia, has been in its current location for 10 years.

Urban declined to say whether the landlord offered to sell the building to Element East.

Nevaeh Medispa, located in the adjoining space, has moved to Shorewood.