Clients at spas, gyms, pickleball courts, cycling classes and Pilates clubs generate steady foot traffic, particularly during non-traditional mall hours.
In the past few years, malls and marketplaces across the country have seen a burgeoning demand from communities for tenants that offer a wide range of offerings for health and wellness. In fact, according to a 2024 McKinsey survey, 82% of U.S. consumers now consider wellness a top priority, resulting in a global health and wellness market that has reached $5.8 million and is projected to soar to nearly $14 trillion by 2032.
A trend in online shopping, which accelerated during COVID-19, saw the decline of some department stores in retail malls and marketplaces. Newly created vacant spaces have attracted fitness and wellness centers that have become a new kind of anchor for the traditional retail space.
Clients at spas, gyms, pickleball courts, cycling classes and Pilates clubs generate steady foot traffic, particularly during non-traditional mall hours. Cross shopping is often a result, as visitors seeking self-care also frequent restaurants and retailers after their workouts.
This strong consumer focus on well-being is evident in Flagstaff, long considered a fit and healthy town, with a community that embraces fresh air and abundant recreational opportunities. Seeking an active lifestyle, residents and tourists alike have been drawn to Aspen Place at the Sawmill (named in honor of the historic Stone Forest Sawmill), which is located just steps from Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College.
Aspen Place has gone through several phases and today features varied dining choices, multiple clothing stores, grocery outlets and spa and gym options.
Strategically situated at the corner of Butler Avenue and Lone Tree Road, it is at the center of the growing retail market in Flagstaff, the largest city in Northern Arizona with nearly 70,000 residents, as well a seasonal student population of more than 29,000, according to the Aspen Place website.
Highlighting a trend for “lifestyle destination” malls, Aspen Place is a mixed-use development that also includes Village at Aspen Place, with apartments, swimming pools and hot tubs.
The focus on Aspen Place as a gathering place for the health conscious may have picked up steam in May 2008 when the New Frontiers Natural Marketplace opened its state-of-the-art store, a centerpiece of the burgeoning development. When New Frontiers closed in 2014, it was replaced by Whole Foods Market, which thrives today, along with the large REI storefront that opened in the same year and features sporting goods and camping gear.
These larger stores have since been joined by a bevy of fitness and wellness businesses, such as Club Pilates (specialized reformer fusion classes), Esenem Yoga (yoga studio specializing in hot yoga) and Orangetheory Fitness (high intensity workouts).
One of the more popular indoor wellness facilities is CycleBar Flagstaff, a 2,000-square-foot boutique studio that opened in October 2020. The studio offers themed cycling classes, as well as motivational coaching. “We’ve seen businesses come and go,” said CycleBar Owner Sarah Milios. “There are definitely healthy gym businesses here, and even athletic clothing stores that have opened. I tell people, you’re going to burn calories by just walking around.”
The studio has an average of 18 staff members, including the general manager, front desk workers and studio instructors. “Our instructors are our product!” Milios said. “They are highly trained and well supported with continuing education. They audition and go through rigorous boot camp training.”
The studio has about 300 members and offers a range of options for participants.
“We have memberships (for four, eight and unlimited classes) and also a variety of class packages. We have a drop-in rate available, too. We do require a reservation, but often have available bikes if someone is walking by. We also provide cycle shoes and towels.”
CycleBar is filling a welcome niche in the wellness mix at Aspen Place. “Community response has been positive,” Milios said. “Our Google rating is 5 stars.”
The positive feedback from the community has included these comments: “Warm, welcoming, fun, inclusive, clean, charitable, well-managed and maintained, incredible and motivating instructors.”
On the east side of town on North U.S. Highway 89, the Flagstaff Mall, which opened in 1979, is a regional shopping center serving an expansive trade area of more than 220,000 residents, according to the mall website. The enclosed, climate-controlled mall provides a diverse shopping experience, anchored by Dillard’s, JCPenney and Hobby Lobby and many locally owned shops.
Flagstaff Mall also has a large parking lot that is used in the summer months for spa demonstrations and sales, as well as the East Flagstaff Community Market (third Saturday of every month). The market features healthy, handmade products, such as honey, sourdough bread and salsa from local vendors.
“I’m very excited that we are still a traditional shopping mall,” said Flagstaff Mall General Manager Bonnie Bouschet. “Part of our success is because we’re an outer market that draws people who still prefer to shop in person, rather than online. A lot of our customers are coming from the reservations, and also tourists traveling to the Grand Canyon, Snowbowl and other attractions.”
Flagstaff Mall is very popular with tenants as well. “Believe it or not, we only have three vacant spaces,” she said.
The mall’s convenient location, just off Interstate 40, makes it an easy on-off exit for locals and travelers. “We have very loyal customers who shop at the mall on a regular basis, due to our passion for giving back to our community, including free family fun events, craft shows, and health and wellness fairs,” she said.
An added attraction is an early opening hour, before stores open, when various groups come to exercise. “We open early for our regular ‘Mall Walkers,’” Bouschet said. “The mall is a safe and climate-controlled environment for people to ‘get their steps in,’ while walking on a stable surface. Many of our walkers are elderly and enjoy walking, shopping and visiting with other guests.”
In addition, Fit4Mom Flagstaff class members, who are dedicated to strength in motherhood, both prenatal and postnatal, show up during the winter months to power walk in the mornings, some with their babies in strollers, through the mall when stores are still closed.
Bouschet is aware of the health and wellness trends in malls, including a lot of “asks” for pickleball courts, but she said there are no appropriate spaces for courts in Flagstaff Mall, including the former bowling space located by JCPenney.
“Our space that we do have doesn’t quite work for pickleball because of structural beams that are too close together for a court,” she explained. “I would have had a pickleball court in already if I could.”
She said the mall’s health and wellness tenant, Planet Fitness, was a “great addition to the mall,” as well as to the east side of town. The spacious, 17,168-square-foot gym signed the agreement with Flagstaff Mall in 2019.
Planet Fitness has about 9,000 members and attracts a lot of foot traffic, including “truckers wanting to workout after long hours of sedentary sitting in their trucks,” Bouschet said.
The gym is open 24 hours, five days a week with reduced hours on weekends. Gym memberships start at $15 a month.
According to the McKinsey survey and locals in the fitness business, the future is bright for gyms and clubs, both large and small, and Flagstaff is expected to continue to be an attractive place for businesses that help people improve their health and well-being. FBN
By Betsey Bruner, FBN
Courtesy Photo: CycleBar Flagstaff opened in 2020 at Aspen Place with themed cycling classes and motivational coaching.
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