Eagle Tennis Club to close, ‘athletic country club’ to take its place

Eagle Tennis Club is closing its courts and a national, upscale gym chain is moving in.

Life Time Fitness is taking over the building and planning an extensive remodel and expansion.

ETC sent out a notice to members Tuesday informing them the club would close on November 1 and that the Junior After School Program sessions would be ending early. Owner Kara Hoge confirmed the closure to BoiseDev.

“They’re buying the building and the club and are changing it a lot,” Hoge said. “They are modifying it so there are only six tennis courts, mostly fitness, and pickleball courts.”

‘Athletic Country Club’

Life Time Fitness operates more than 160 of what it calls “athletic country clubs” across the country. This would be Idaho’s first location.

Application materials filed with the City of Eagle show a thorough remodel and an addition that will increase the building’s size by nearly 60%, covering more than 136,000 total square feet.

Site plan shows expansion planned for the Eagle Tennis Center, which will become Life Time Fitness. Site plan: VIa Kimley-Horn

The first phase of work would remodel the tennis center facility and convert a number of the tennis courts into pickleball configuration – with a total of eight pickleball courts and six tennis. A new lounge area and pro shop would also be constructed.

The addition would come next and include a large fitness floor, which a floor plan shows would include well more than 100 pieces of fitness equipment. A set of yoga and group fitness studios would sit in the northwest corner of the building next to a kids’ outdoor play area. A kids’ academy includes a basketball court, classroom and other space.

Along the south side of the new Life Time, a full-service cafe, which the company calls a Life Cafe and kitchen are planned, as well as large-scale locker rooms and massage areas.

The project would include two outdoor pools and an extensive pool deck.

“The project will offer an architecture style consistent with a mix of contemporary forms and modern styles,” David Morrow with Life Time Property Development wrote in an application letter. “An elegant and plentiful blend of materials ranging from natural stone and brick to decorative metal panel and EIFS accents are planned with Life Time’s signature palette of timeless, natural colors. The building architecture is most consistent with the Craftsman Architectural Theme. Craftsman features include blending the low-pitched, gabled rooflines of the existing Tennis Facility with the square and simple design of the proposed building addition.”

The project saw unanimous design review approval and passed the Eagle City Council this summer.

Timeline, employees

The project is larger than a one-time proposal to build a similar concept called VillaSport in Meridian that was proposed in 2018, and was later abandoned after its parent company purchased the local Axiom chain.

Hoge didn’t know when the new athletic club is scheduled to open and a Life Time representative has yet to respond to BoiseDev’s inquiries.

As for the ETC employees, Hoge hopes they will be hired by Life Time but couldn’t say much more.

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