HANOVER TWP., Pa. – As one business prepares to join the Airport Shopping Center in Lehigh County, another is readying to leave for a new Lehigh Valley location.
Club Pilates
Set to open at the Airport Shopping Center in the coming months is a new location of Club Pilates, a chain of boutique Pilates studios offering reformer-based group classes that “challenge your mind as well your body.”
The new location is expected to open in November or December at 917 Airport Center Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, according to Michelle Craciun, who’s operating the studio with her mother, Cristina Craciun.
The new Club Pilates location will operate in a renovated space that previously housed a Sprint store, which closed in 2020.
A new location of Club Pilates is coming soon to the Airport Shopping Center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
Club Pilates, founded in San Diego in 2007, has expanded globally with more than 1,000 studios spanning four continents.
The Craciuns also operate a year-old Club Pilates studio in Wyomissing, Berks County, and their forthcoming Lehigh County studio will supplement another Lehigh Valley location that is separately owned and operated in Lower Nazareth Township.
“We’re really excited to be growing in the Allentown area,” Michelle said. “It’s a prime location, and a lot of people have already told us how convenient it will be for them.”
Michelle, a resident of Berks County, previously lived in Florida where she got hooked on Club Pilates while taking classes at an Orlando studio.
Club Pilates Wyomissing
“We got started with Club Pilates because I have the background of being a Pilates instructor,” Michelle said.
“We love what we do because the benefits of our classes are just amazing. To see how it brings community members together for their health is truly amazing and the most rewarding part of operating a Club Pilates studio.”
Club Pilates stays true to Joseph Pilates’ original, reformer-based “Contrology” method, modernizing it with group practice and state-of-the-art equipment.
The chain serves up more than eight million workouts each year to its dedicated members.
“We believe that Pilates is the path to a fuller, more satisfying physical existence,” a message on Club Pilates’ website states. “We believe that being in control of your body helps you to be in control of your life. And best of all, we believe that you can start anytime.”
Club Pilates, open to individuals of all ages and fitness levels, promises “a workout without the hurt.”
In addition to reformers, Club Pilates studios feature a variety of apparatus, including TRX, Exo-Chair, Bosu ball, mats, rollers, and more, to help build strength, mobility and stability.
Club Pilates instructors perform hundreds of hours of training to meet teacher standards so they can provide the highest quality Pilates workouts.
Individuals are welcome to book a free 30-minute Club Pilates Introductory Class to walk through the reformer Pilates basics and familiarize themselves with the specialized studio equipment.
There are more than 1,000 Club Pilates locations worldwide.
Another coming-soon Club Pilates studio, operated by franchisees Mike and Karey Christie, is expected to open in early November in the Quakertown Plaza on West Broad Street, according to general manager Mike Nolan.
Golf Galaxy
Planning to leave the Airport Shopping Center for another local venue is Golf Galaxy, an interactive golf store chain.
Golf Galaxy is moving to a new Lehigh Valley Mall location, which has a grand opening set for Oct. 25, according to storefront signage.
A new location of Golf Galaxy will hold a grand opening on Oct. 25 at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township.
The new location will occupy a renovated outparcel space that previously housed HobbyTown USA and a portion of the former Babies R Us store.
Golf Galaxy, which opened its first store in 1997, offers “superstore selection and pricing with pro shop knowledge and services,” according to a description on the business’ website.
The company prides itself on its world-class selection of brand name golf equipment, golf apparel, golf accessories, golf technology and golf gifts for golfers of all ages and abilities. The retailer also sells pre-owned golf clubs and offers golf club trade-ins.
In addition to merchandise, Golf Galaxy – with about 100 stores nationwide – offers a comprehensive array of golf services and interactive golf features.
The Lehigh Valley location of Golf Galaxy is planning to move from a space at the Airport Shopping Center (pictured) to a newly outfitted space at the Lehigh Valley Mall.
Some of these features include: on-staff PGA and LPGA professionals offering lessons, computer video swing analysis and information about equipment and club fitting; certified club technicians who have the materials and tools to get your clubs regripped and reshafted, adjust your loft and lie, and more; fitting bays where certified fitters use state-of-the-art technology to find the clubs that best suit your swing and game; electronic golf course simulators to test your skills on the world’s most famous courses; and indoor driving range and putting greens to test your clubs.
“The redesigned Golf Galaxy Performance Center in the Lehigh Valley Mall will offer golfers of all levels an immersive experience – access to industry leading TrackManTM and BioMechTM golf technologies, state-of-the-art hitting bays, custom fittings, golf lessons from a Class A Certified PGA Professional and the best equipment, apparel, and footwear from top brands such as Callaway, TaylorMade, PING, Titleist, Nike, TravisMathew, New Balance, FootJoy and more,” a message on the Lehigh Valley Mall’s website reads.
More Airport Shopping Center changes
The Airport Shopping Center is home to more than two dozen tenants, including popular retail chains such as Ross, Target, Old Navy and Ulta Beauty; and restaurant chains such as Five Guys, On the Border, Panera Bread and Miller’s Ale House.
The forthcoming Club Pilates location, between Panera Bread and Great Clips, is welcome news for the center, which lost an anchor tenant, Christmas Tree Shops, in summer 2023.
A space that previously housed Christmas Tree Shops remains vacant at the Airport Shopping Center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
Tenants joining the shopping center’s roster over the past couple of years include Kinya ramen and sushi restaurant, Wren Kitchens, Trek Bicycle Allentown, Buff City Soap and Wingstop.
No new tenants have been announced for the former Christmas Tree Shops space or the space that Golf Galaxy is vacating.