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‘High energy’ workout studio destined for overhauled Broadway lounge

One of our top Capitol Hill development stories of 2010 was the overhaul underway of the old Jade Pagoda restaurant and lounge on the north end of Broadway into a new set of retail spaces. CHS has now learned how part of that new space is going to be put to use later in 2011. For those of you with New Year’s resolutions to get fit, you might be glad to know that the space will become the spiritual opposite of the old Pagoda.

In its later days, the Pagoda was a little bit like the departed Maharaja  — you didn’t really go there to eat. This spring, you’ll go there to workout.


“We want to bring life to that space, and turn it on,” Jasmine Sharp tells CHS. She and her partners are opening bodyLAB, am “athletic.achievable.affordable” gym concept. Sharp tells us bodyLAB intends to emphasize its presence on a busy streetscape:

BODYLAB’s concept is to interconnect 3 high energy exercises classes:

powerLABpilates, barre & TRX.Classes will accomodate 10-12 clients max on a time and pilates classes will all be held on Evolved Reformer Machines. We will be using our bodylab_BEATS / musicLAB where DJ’s provide playlists to keep the clients motivated and the walkby traffic watching in the windows. NOSE PRINTS encouraged against windows!!

And, yes, she was probably enthusiastically yelling — in an encouraging way — when she typed that.

Sharp tells us bodyLAB will be sharing the new retail spaces with another tenant but she couldn’t yet say who will occupy the northern portion of the building. Between the new spaces and Poppy stands an empty retail space and the soon to be home of Bank of America  which will move in while the 230 Broadway project construction is underway.

Last spring, CHS spoke with Craig Swanson of Redside Partners, the developer of the Pagoda overhaul. At the time, Swanson said Redside approached neighboring property owners (this map of nearby owners is a little dated but gives you a general sense of the players) about a redevelopment but couldn’t work anything out so they decided to restore the building to working order and try to bring in some new tenants. A restaurant had been in talks to move into the space.  Swanson told CHS Redside didn’t want any bars or clubs in the space because of the wear they cause on buildings.

Sharp says bodyLAB won’t move into the new space until early spring with a March 1 target date for the start of classes. “We’ll be high energy,” Sharp said. “I’m really excited.”

Coupled with the arrival of barre3 in the Trace building on 12th Ave and plans for upscale salons (including one that specializes in eyelashes), you can construct a mini-trend of higher-end bodycare being the clearest retail trend on the Hill to start the New Year. Feel free to speculate on potential start-up ideas in the comments.

There are still some lower cost alternatives to getting a good workout — with friends! — on the Hill. East Pine’s Fleet Feet continues its group runs in 2011. Here’s the latest schedule sent in their e-mail newsletter:

STORE GROUP RUNS

TUESDAY: 6pm at Fleet Feet
  6 miles; 7-11 min pace

THURSDAY: 6pm at Fleet Feet
  3.5 miles; ALL paces welcome

SATURDAY: 8am at Fleet Feet
  Distance/Route & Paces TBD
  (@ 10-15 mile routes, varied paces)

Running is free and can tide you over until March 1 — though we suppose you’ll need to buy some new shoes. Learn more at

You can learn more about bodyLAB at http://www.bodylab.tv/, on Facebook or via Twitter @bodylabcaphill.

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Dustin at Fleet Feet
Dustin at Fleet Feet
13 years ago

That’s exciting that there’s a new workout studio coming to the Hill!

Thanks for spreading the word about our group runs! Not to hijack the article but we’ve also got some great run training programs coming up to. Stop in to find out more

http://www.fleetfeetseattle.com/training-programs-0

Aaron
Aaron
13 years ago

When is the hill getting a Male-only waxing salon? That has to be in the works right, or does it already exist and I’m just oblivious? They got them for women. Cap Hill seems like a great place to start a man-wax business…just sayin… :)