LAFAYETTE – Club NewTone, a longtime fitness club and center in Lafayette, is closing.
The gym was bought out by VASA Fitness, a gym with more than 45 locations around the country, including a gym near the corner of Creasy Lane and South Street in Lafayette in a former Marsh Supermarket building.
Monday was the last operational day for Club NewTone, which is located on the corner of Sagamore Parkway and Union Street and has been open in Lafayette since 1988. In 2010, Marc Vaughn purchased Club NewTone from Barry Newton, the original owner of the gym.
Vaughn, the owner of Team MJV, a Lafayette-based janitorial and facilities management company, declined to comment publicly on the gym’s sale and closing.
For Erin Charters, a group fit instructor at Club NewTone, the gym was more than just a space to exercise. Charters met her husband, Kyle Charters, through the club and has been instructing her classes there for the last 13 years.
Charters said she was “heartbroken” to learn about Club NewTone’s closing and is looking at other gyms or facilities to move to and teach group fitness classes.
“It’s been a really solid, supportive space to go, where you can escape or step away from other problems or issues,” Charters said. “Club NewTone was my home away from home. It was so much more than just a gym or a fitness place, but a place where I found my gym family. What made it so special was the people.”
Terms of the sale to VASA were not immediately disclosed. It wasn’t immediately clear what the future holds for the building or property after the gym closes.
Under VASA’s ownership, the current Club NewTone memberships will transfer to VASA gyms and monthly membership rates will stay the same, according to a note sent to gym members. Memberships will become active at VASA Sept. 1.
VASA’s Lafayette gym offers a variety of amenities, including group fitness classes, a spa and sauna, an indoor pool and child care.
The child care and guest privileges from Club NewTone to VASA will not transfer, an email to members said.
Tara Seaburg taught her last class at Club NewTone Monday morning. She said she was initially shocked to find out the place that had been such a big part of her life would be closing.
“It’s an absolute family to me,” Seaburg said. “It’s a place where I can come and work on my fitness, and that I’ve built so many friendships and connections over the years. It taught me how to change my personal life, and it taught me how to teach others and change their lives.”
Seaburg joined the club 13 years ago and has been teaching fitness classes for the last 12 years. While a member and teaching classes, Seaburg said she has celebrated countless birthdays, anniversaries and other special moments with her own family and her “gym family.”
“It’s been endless moments of fun with fellow instructors and members, and I feel like I’m losing something that I’m not ready to lose,” Seaburg said.
Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for the Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765) 201-8515 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.