Fitness 365 in Downtown Fresno's CityView building may be in danger of closing after a bankruptcy filing this week. Photo by Edward Smith

published on March 1, 2018 - 12:56 PM

Written by Edward Smith

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A Downtown Fresno gym filed for bankruptcy protection this week, which may mean the closure of one of downtown’s few fitness sites.

Father-and-daughter team Darryl and Taylor Phillips are the owners of Fitness 365 on the ground floor of the CityView @ Van Ness on the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Inyo Street. It was one of the few gyms downtown when it opened in 2016. The fact that it operated 24 hours a day and was located in a new building made it stand out as well.

On Feb. 20 Darryl Phillips made the federal filing for Chapter 7 protection, which usually indicates a plan to liquidate assets. Efforts to reach the owners of Fitness 365 were unsuccessful.

As of Thursday morning Fitness 365 was still open.

While the ultimate fate of the gym is still unknown, it looks like a closure is coming, according to the Fresno Housing Authority, which owns the building.

“We were recently made aware of the unfortunate closing of Fitness 365,” said Preston Prince, CEO of the Fresno Housing Authority, in a written statement. “Fresno Housing is committed to supporting small businesses and will continue to target a new commercial tenant for this space that contributes to the redevelopment of Downtown Fresno.”

The treadmills, free weights and training equipment are valued at more than $120,000, according to court records. But it was having a neighborhood place to workout for downtown residents that made the site so attractive, according to an employee.

“It’s your downtown 24-hour gym, there’s nothing like it,” said a physical trainer this week.

Members are given a key card that they can use to enter the gym when staff isn’t there.

The 45-unit CityView @ Van Ness apartments opened in 2015. The 4-story building replaced a previous structure that was on the verge of collapse, and represented what would be a standard for downtown revitalization in the eyes of downtown boosters.

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