PATERSON, NJ – The Planet Fitness health club will open an 18,000-square-foot facility at a downtown office tower here.

Cushman & Wakefield’s director of New Jersey retail real estate Nancy Erickson and Jennifer Sofia brokered the long-term lease of first-floor space at 100 Hamilton Plaza for the property owner, Mountain Development Corp.

“This was an interesting assignment,” Erickson said. “Our initial goal involved drawing a tenant – like Planet Fitness – that would serve as an amenity for office tenants at 100 Hamilton Plaza, but we saw interest from a range of users, from national restaurants to local furniture stores.”

She said the building offers 100 feet of retail frontage along Market Street, and the prior tenant – TD Bank– had its sign stop the roof that is visible from I-80, and throughout Paterson. “This high visibility and the
neighborhood’s Urban Enterprise Zone benefits proved to be strong draws,” Erickson said.

Only the 12,200-square-foot former bank space was marketed for lease. When Planet Fitness said it would require a somewhat larger space, the brokers worked with the landlord to create one. Mountain Development expanded the square footage by incorporating hallways and surplus storage space for the health club space.

“The result is a real win for Mountain Development Corp, which has secured an excellent new tenant and building amenity, and ultimately increased the rentable space at 100 Hamilton Plaza,” which will now have a total of 175,000 square feet, Sofia said.

The renovation work is under way, and the health club is expected to open this summer.

Curtis Nassau and Florian Suserman from Ripco Real Estate served as tenant representative for the Planet Fitness franchisee, who operates several
other regional locations.

The office tower is fully occupied, and set amidst a downtown business center, near Passaic Community College and City Center Shopping Mall.

Cushman & Wakefield’s New Jersey retail practice represents nearly two dozen New Jersey retail properties totaling more than 200,000 square feet.