Crunch Fitness has signed a lease for 21,000 square feet of prime space at 20 King Street West in downtown Toronto’s PATH network, marking the fitness chain’s first entry into the city’s core with a location that will transform a historic bank vault into a modern fitness facility.
The location, situated directly underneath Joey restaurant, will incorporate former Royal Bank of Canada gold vaults into its design, with original three-foot stainless steel doors becoming architectural features in the workout space.
“If you’re going to go downtown, you have to be on the PATH. This is how people travel,” Wes Hodgson, CEO of Crunch Fitness Canada, told 6ix Retail in an exclusive interview. “All the experts we work with are like, ‘Wes, if you want to go, this is how people travel. If you’re not on the PATH, don’t go.'”
From ICSC Conference to Lease Signing
The space, vacant since before the pandemic, was introduced to Hodgson at the ICSC real estate conference in September 2023 by Aaron Graben of brokerage firm Titan York.
“I was at ICSC and our broker’s like, ‘Wes, walk with me, we’re gonna see this.’ I’m like, ‘Aaron, I’m really busy. I don’t have time,'” Hodgson recounted. “He took me down, and we were actually going to look at a different place too, at Wellington and something which was Good Life, and somebody wanted to put us in. I was like, I’m not in.”
The decision-making process involved extensive on-site research. “I spent a lot of time sitting outside 20 King, just watching the traffic and it took me after a few visits, coming into Union Station, coming down for Raptors games, walking up to the space, checking it out. I’m like, this is it. This is for Crunch.”
Hodgson emphasized the personal commitment required for the location. “I have lost weeks of sleep over this one. We’ve gone back and forth on size, we’ve gone back and forth on price, and we wanted to go in with something that nobody else was doing. Because to be fair, that’s our brand. We do what nobody else does.”
Post-Pandemic Demographic Shift
The decision was largely driven by observable demographic changes in the financial district following the pandemic. “The demographic of the individual in that core has drastically changed post-COVID,” Hodgson observed. “What you’re seeing is this Gen Z upwave in sort of customers coming into the gym. And I’m seeing the same customers down in the core today. And that’s what I look at and I go, wow, this Crunch needs to be here.”
Hodgson described his observation methodology: “I stood there and had plenty of meetings, plenty of coffees. I watched the traffic count. I looked at the people. These are guys, like people like you and I walking that PATH every single day. Yes, there’s bankers. Yes, there’s all this other stuff because it’s in the financial district. It is a very different crowd than it was in 2019.”
The space itself holds historical significance. “This place housed the gold for RBC. You’re going to be doing squats in what is potentially a safe with a three-foot stainless steel door. It’s very cool,” Hodgson explained. “There’s a couple of vaults, which are going to be a part of the club.”
The landlord was represented by Alex Edmison and the CBRE Toronto Urban Retail Team.
Evolving Fitness Preferences
Currently operating 35+ locations across Canada with plans to reach over 50 by 2025, Crunch has positioned itself as “Canada’s fastest-growing fitness brand” and has tailored its downtown location to meet evolving fitness preferences in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.
“As this sort of post-pandemic Gen Z fitness, young, strong social crowd keeps growing, we’re really seeing the usage areas in the gym change,” said Hodgson. “They want dumbbells and barbells and deadlift platforms and open workout space and tons of free weights, which is where we excel.”
This shift has fundamentally altered Crunch’s facility design approach. “We used to have 150 pieces of cardio. Maybe we’re only putting in 80 or 90 now. We used to put in four step mills. Now we’re putting in 20 step mills. And we’re putting in 20, 30 treadmills. And that’s about it. A couple of bikes and a couple of ellipticals. The makeup of the interest of the user has really changed.”
Hodgson also noted broader changes in gym culture post-pandemic. “The gym has become a place and it was a place. The gym was built on a place of community and culture and friends. And it’s a place to go. It’s not just a place to work out. It’s a place to belong. And we’re really seeing that come back hard, and we’re seeing our average stay at the gym is longer. We’re seeing people engage with each other more.”
Premium Recovery and Specialized Training
The facility will feature an expanded focus on recovery amenities, reflecting industry trends toward wellness integration.
“We’re leaning in really heavily to relax and recovery. That’s a big area for us. Massage, tanning, saunas, red light, hydro, cryotherapy, cold therapies. That’s gonna be a big part of this club,” Hodgson detailed. “This is gonna be class leading in that sector, downtown Toronto for that HVLP [high-value, low-price] model.”
Specialized training areas will include a HIITZone with Turf, Platforms and tonnes of weights “We’re really leaning heavily into what we call sort of our abs and asset zone, which is sort of that front and back area that is really trendy in that whole glute zone with those influencers,” Hodgson noted.
The facility will also accommodate modern fitness trends. “We’re going to get into some sort of entry level technology circuit based training, using some wearables. We’re really starting to dive into all these different product offerings that these Gen Z’s and Millennials want to experience in the club.”
Market Positioning and Investment Strategy
Crunch positions itself strategically between budget and luxury fitness options. “We have a lot of players in the low price, high volume space. We have a lot of players in the high value, high price space. We’re kind of taking the two and combining them,” Hodgson explained.
Memberships will start at $19.99 per month, Hodgson indicated memberships would remain accessible. “We’re not the $150 to $250 a month club. We don’t want to be that. We want to be the club for everybody.”
The company’s growth has been supported by recent investment partnerships. “Having a partner who wants to see you succeed, who wants you to grow, who’s there to support you, and apply that growth logic to the business and understand what levers to pull… it’s great to have a super supportive financial partner in the business,” Hodgson said, referencing backing from Trive Capital and 808 Capital Partners.
Unlike traditional bank financing, Hodgson noted the difference in partnership approach: “We never had that relationship with our bank. They get you in enough to get you as a customer and then they figure out how to get out.”
Accessibility and Corporate Integration
The facility will feature multiple access points for maximum convenience. “We will have two access points, one in Scotia Plaza and the other one which would be the west portal just before you go underneath King Street. And then there’s a set of stairs that comes down from 20 King up top and that’ll take you out of the club,” Hodgson explained.
Operating hours will accommodate downtown schedules. “At bare minimum, we’ll be 5 AM to midnight. We have the ability to go 24 hours. And we may do that. If there’s a demand for it, we’re not really sure what to expect.”
In a strategic move, Crunch will incorporate corporate functions into the location. “We’re actually going to notch out a little bit of space to have a little micro head office downtown Toronto. As we grow in different areas, we love the idea to be able to host people downtown. People are flying in from Toronto. We love to be able to just jump on the train and come down, stay downtown, experience Toronto in the six, and do all of our corporate training in Toronto.”
Timeline and Community Focus
Targeted to open by the end of 2025, the company projects significant daily traffic. “We will redefine the high value fitness experience in the core,” Hodgson stated.
Marketing activation will begin well before opening. “We are absolutely gonna be running some in-market activation with staff, probably starting September, where we really dial in, teaching people about the brand, what it is, how we do it, all the great things come into location, and then giving people the opportunity to join our founding member campaigns.”
The development reflects Crunch’s community-focused growth philosophy. “We really focus on building relationships with the community. When you build a club, it gets filled full of people. People come in and out of the communities. We want to focus on reinvesting in our clubs, continually to make a better Crunch in the communities we already operate in. We don’t want to be one of those brands that just keeps on going and building new boxes and forget about the ones that we started who made us successful.”
PATH Retail Renaissance
The development represents part of a broader revitalization of Toronto’s underground retail landscape, which has seen significant activity across multiple corridors in recent months.
Recent PATH developments include Paint Cabin opening in the former Shoe Warehouse space at Scotia Plaza, and Barbers of Mayfair preparing to open at Bay Adelaide Centre, following Freebird’s recent launch in the former Scotiabank location there. At First Canadian Place, Harry Rosen has opened a temporary location during renovations, while Playwell is set to open in the former Uniqlo storefront. Flight Centre recently opened at Royal Bank Plaza, adding to the travel services available in the network.
The PATH system has also maintained connectivity despite Hudson’s Bay closing all stores, with the walkway remaining open to preserve traffic flow from CF Toronto Eaton Centre into the broader underground network.
The underground retail landscape has been undervalued pre-pandemic, but is now seeing a surge of people living, working, and traveling in the core.
Hodgson agreed with this assessment: “I think that the more uses that we can bring down in that space that create this sort of underground living travel vibe is vital to the success of the city.”
The Crunch development joins other recent entrants to the PATH system and comes amid intensifying competition within Toronto’s premium fitness sector, with Anytime Fitness expanding to King Street West, Equinox on Bathurst, and Sweat & Tonic moving into Yorkville.
“It’s all about building relationships with the community,” Hodgson concluded. “The gym has become a place of community and culture and friends. It’s not just a place to work out. It’s a place to belong.”
Crunch Fitness Canada currently operates 35+ locations nationwide with plans to reach over 50 by 2025. The PATH system is North America’s largest underground pedestrian network, spanning over 30 kilometres and connecting more than 75 buildings in Toronto’s downtown core.
Dustin Fuhs is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail, Toronto’s premier source for retail and hospitality industry news. As the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication, Dustin brings over two decades of expertise spanning retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality sectors. His experience includes leadership roles with industry giants such as The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Recognized as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025, Dustin delivers insider perspectives on Toronto’s evolving retail landscape, from emerging brands to established players reshaping the city’s commercial districts.