Q: Any word on what’s happening with the Esporta building on Golden Gate and 68th? — Laura Lynn, Golden Gate 

A: It looks as if a 20-year string of fitness clubs has come to an end at 6800 Golden Gate Parkway. A private Christian school has been proposed for that location between Livingston Road and Interstate 75. 

Until it permanently closed this summer, Esporta Fitness had operated in the 30,000-square-foot building for more than three years. It was LA Fitness from about 2013 until early 2020 when the gym chain rebranded this location and some of its other locations nationwide to launch the downmarket Esporta. That local address also was Lifestyle Family Fitness from about 2008 to 2013, and previously was Athletic Club Naples or ACN. 

“The subject property was originally developed as a shopping center in 1975, prior to adoption of the Golden Gate Area Master Plan. The Collier County Board of Zoning Appeals authorized a non-conforming use change to permit a bowling alley in 1990; an indoor putting course (18 holes) and accessory pro shop, dining facility and future outdoor pitch and putt area in 1996; a school in 1997; and then the current fitness center in 2002,” according to a narrative statement filed with the county’s Growth Management Department this summer regarding a proposed change in use from a fitness center to a private school in the “E” Estates Zoning District.

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