Planet Fitness in Hyde Park abruptly shut down • The TRiiBE

A Planet Fitness in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood is now closed as “a result of an ongoing landlord-tenant dispute,” according to the gym chain.

Video footage posted by one TikTok user posted Sept. 12 shows gym members at the Planet Fitness, located at 1301 E. 47th St. in the Hyde Park Retail Center, being removed by deputies from the Sheriff’s Department.

“The Sheriff is in here putting everybody out, y’all, said they’re closing down 47th and Lake Park,” TikTok user NelleSophia said in the video. 

The footage shows Planet Fitness employees looking confused. Members can be seen in workout gear in the middle of an exercise routine on treadmills as deputies ask them to clear the location. 

The closure comes after Esporta Fitness in Morgan Park shut its doors in March. The gym did not provide a reason for the closure and alerted members by placing signs outside the club’s doors, giving them less than a month’s notice of the decision.

https://www.tiktok.com/@nellesophia/video/7413866591466671391?_r=1&_t=8pmLQNuUWGF

Becky Zirlen, senior director of communications for Planet Fitness, told The TRiiBE in an email on Sept. 16 that the closure only impacts the location on 47th Street. The gym “has terminated its relationship with the franchise owner,” the email read. No reason was given behind the stated landlord-tenant dispute. Zirlen didn’t share the exact date the gym closed.

Zirlen said that members would be able to transfer their membership and use a nearby Planet Fitness location for free until November 2024. The website currently states the “club is closed,” inviting members to use other nearby locations. 

The owner of the Planet Fitness location could not immediately be reached. The phone number for the gym was disconnected upon calling.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.