Life Time pitches luxury housing-fitness mix in Maple Grove

As part of its ambitious expansion plan in Maple Grove, Life Time wants to bring luxury apartments to the city in addition to a high-end fitness club — a mixed-use concept that the company has advanced in other states but not in Minnesota.

Chanhassen-based Life Time is seeking city approvals for the proposed development, which includes a 90,000- to 120,000-square-foot health and wellness facility and 200 to 385 apartments within the 100-acre Minnesota Health Village development site near Interstate 94 and Highway 610.

The fitness building and apartments would rise on 17.5 acres at the northeast corner of the Minnesota Health Village site. Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. is the master developer of Minnesota Health Village.

Life Time still has some hurdles to clear in city entitlement process, but it’s off to a good start. Monday night, the Maple Grove City Council swiftly approved a planned unit development concept stage plan, and preliminary and final plat.

“We are pleased to have received council approval last Monday for our concept plan. We are excited about this project and are now focused on the additional process steps and required approvals that remain ahead,” Dan DeBaun, Life Time’s public relations manager, said in an email.

Heidi Nelson, Maple Grove’s city administrator, said Life Time is expected to submit a development stage plan early next year. The plan will include more details about the building, parking, engineering and more, Nelson said.

The project is tied to a land swap deal with the city.

In November, the city and Life Time announced plans to complete a land exchange agreement that will allow Life Time to build its new facility within Minnesota Health Village, and to “pursue other multiuse development opportunities.”

For its part, the city will take ownership of Life Time’s current Maple Grove building, which adjoins the Maple Grove Community Center.

The city plans to use $10.9 million from existing capital funds to complete the deal, according to a press release. Ultimately, the city’s share of the transaction will reach $17.5 million, including a tax abatement and the “waiver of special assessments for the new Life Time development,” the release states.

A public hearing for the tax abatement portion of the deal is scheduled for Dec. 16.

A signature feature of the development proposal is the apartment concept. The luxury apartments would rise on the west side of the Life Time development site, with the fitness club on the east side, Joe Hogeboom, Maple Grove’s community and economic development director, said Monday.

Life Time would own and operate the apartment building, he said.

“This is something that Life Time has done with success in other parts of the country,” Hogeboom said. “Currently no Minnesota examples, but [the apartment building] would allow its residents to take advantage, basically, of the club amenities next door.”

Life Time has existing “Life Time Living” communities in Stamford, Connecticut; Coral Gables, Florida; Green Valley, Nevada; and Burlington, Massachusetts, DeBaun said.

“Each of these is either attached or in close proximity to a Life Time athletic country club,” he said, adding that Life Time has plans to “add additional locations.”

In 2022, Life Time submitted a sketch plan to the city of Edina for a 32-story, 300-unit apartment building at the northwest quadrant of Southdale Mall. The site is framed by York Avenue on the east, an existing Life Time club on the west, One Southdale Apartments on the south and Homewood Suites on the north.

Life Time doesn’t have an update for the Edina plans at this time, DeBaun said Thursday.

In a project narrative, Life Time said the proposed Maple Grove club will feature “indoor and outdoor amenities, including fitness studios, a swimming pool, and other recreational facilities,” and the apartment building will offer “high-quality architectural design, upscale amenities, and landscaping.”

The project would be a notable addition to Minnesota Health Village. Anchored by Maple Grove Hospital, Minnesota Health Village is a “destination for residents, employers, and workers seeking an amenity-rich setting rooted in wellness,” according to its website.

Not including the Life Time site, about 25 acres of land is still available for development at Minnesota Health Village, said Ann Duginske Cibulka, Ryan’s vice president of real estate development. Existing uses include multifamily and 55-plus housing.

“We do have interested users on the remaining land including additional multifamily, hotel/hospitality, medical office and senior living. However, we don’t have anything to confirm at this time,” Cibulka said in an email.

Elsewhere in the Twin Cities, Life Time is finishing up an expansion and remodel of its location in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. DeBaun said the project, which includes more than 20,000 square feet of new space, will be “complete and revealed to members on Dec. 7.”

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