New LA Fitness in Royal Oak aims for fall finish

The new LA Fitness is really building itself up in downtown Royal Oak this summer.Work on the new 2-story building at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Washington Street is expected to wrap up later this year. The 45,000-square-foot building is built on stilts so vehicles can park on the ground floor and the gym will be housed on the second floor.”We expect to have it open by Christmas,” says Stephen Duczynski, vice president of Schostak Brothers, the developer behind the project.The Woodward lot is the consolation prize for the Livonia-based company. It first proposed putting the facility in the Gateway Plaza parcel at the corner of Main Street and I-696. It was designed as a suburban-style, single-story building surrounded by surface parking, City officials didn’t approve and decided to trade the Woodward parcel to regain control of the Gateway Plaza property. Royal Oak has planned to build a dense, urban, multi-use development on the former car dealership space for years.Source: Stephen Duczynski, vice president of Schostak BrothersWriter: Jon Zemke