Gold’s Gym to close

Gold's Gym is closing its only Hawaii facility on South Street on Aug. 31.

The gym, owned by Texas-based Gold's Gym International, has 1,567 members -- valued at between $39,175 and $54,845 based on fees of $25 to $35 month -- who will be transferred to Powerhouse Gym, a local operation a few blocks away at 432 Keawe St. Members were expected to receive notice of the change this week.

The 22,000-square-foot Powerhouse, which opened in July 2007 and has about 2,000 members, will honor all active prepaid and monthly memberships, according to Alvin Paguio, who owns the gym with his wife, Keri.

"We worked a very good deal with them," said Paguio, who acknowledged that he was approached by Gold's to take over membership, but declined to disclose terms of the deal.

Gold's didn't disclose the reason for the closure or how many employees would be affected. General manager Mike Aimoto didn't return calls for comment. The South Street location opened in 2001.

Gold's is seeking another Honolulu location to eventually reopen, though a timeframe hasn't been determined, Paguio said.

"We are currently developing plans to reintroduce Gold's Gym to Hawaii in a bigger and better way," Gold's spokesman Dave Reiseman told the Star-Bulletin in an e-mail.

Membership with Powerhouse will begin immediately with rates remaining unchanged.

With the boost in membership, Paguio said he is open to hiring some of the laid off workers and is seeking to expand.

"When a corporate business comes in, a lot of times local small businesses lose out or end up closing down, this time it's the other way around where a local small business actually benefited," he said.

Gold's Gym International, which opened in 1965, operates more than 610 facilities in 42 states and 30 countries and has nearly 3 million members worldwide.