The owner of Evans Fitness Club is planning to open a similar club in Grovetown.
Bill Smith submitted conditional use paperwork to the Columbia County government for permission to open a gym at 1901 William Few Pkwy. at the intersection of Chamblin Road.
The empty warehouse and office building is owned by George Snelling of Snelling Properties, but he has been negotiating with Smith to sell him the property, pending any potential zoning issues with the county, he said. He would not disclose his asking price.
“I feel like it’s a great, great thing for the community,” Snelling said. “I feel like a lot of people who live out there will appreciate having a gym close to where they live.”
Evans Fitness Club was a multi-million dollar project when it was built in 2012. Snelling said Smith plans to add parking lots and a second-floor mezzanine similar to the design of the Evans Fitness Club.
“It will be a lot cheaper than having to build,” Snelling said. “In the last two years, construction costs have gone up 30%, so what would have cost $1 million to build will now cost you $1.3 million, at least.”
Though Snelling expected some minor zoning issues, the county planning manager overseeing the project, Will Butler, said he does not anticipate the county commissioners will need to rezone the property. He said there may be some minor changes for landscaping, but said that could be handled at the county staff level.
Smith and Snelling submitted a site plan that showed additional parking spaces. Snelling said the three-acre property has plenty of space to expand parking.
“Parking, that’s a bugaboo for gyms,” Snelling said. That is true for the Evans Fitness Center where patrons often park off property because the gym’s lot is full.
A manager at Evans Fitness Club declined to comment about the new gym, and Smith did not return a reporter’s phone call Thursday.
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
