PORTAGE PARK — When Alexandra Scarpello moved to Portage Park in November, she was excited to see an LA Fitness down the street from her. Just three months later, she learned her new gym is shutting down.

Scarpello and countless other LA Fitness members were blindsided this week by news that the former XSport gym at 5515 W. Irving Park Road will be closing permanently as of 2 p.m. Feb. 21. The closure comes just seven months after LA Fitness took over XSport Fitness, putting Chicago’s nine XSport locations under new management.

Several neighbors said the Portage Park gym started going downhill shortly after LA Fitness took over. LA Fitness locations at 819 S. State St. in the South Loop and at 4677 N. Elston Ave. in Albany Park have also closed in recent months.

LA Fitness did not respond to questions about the Portage Park closure or how many other locations have closed since the XSport takeover. The LA Fitness website currently lists 18 Chicago locations. Before the acquisition, XSport had 10 Chicago gyms.

Jamie Pearl, who started going to the Portage Park gym three years ago, said after it became an LA Fitness, staff were slower to make equipment repairs, wipes and other items were often out of stock and the space got overcrowded.

“By the time I joined in November, it was pretty clear they had already given up, which is weird because the gym is constantly packed with people,” Scarpello said.

The gym’s shift from being open 24/7 to having set hours was also a turnoff, some members said. Keith Crawford said he used to workout around 3:30 a.m. or 4 a.m. Now, he doesn’t go as often because the gym opens at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends.

Evelyn Silva, who joined the gym two years ago, said “the vibe changed completely” after LA Fitness took over.

“The new LA staff felt cold and unapproachable while the XSport regulars were kind, funny and always conversational and willing to help,” she said. “It also felt very much like if you weren’t in shape, this place was no longer for you.”

When the gym was an XSport, Silva said she paid about $25 a month to access all locations. After the acquisition, she was told her rates would stay the same until her gym contract expired in April. To get access to all LA Fitness locations, Silva would have to pay $50 monthly plus an additional $60 annual fee.

Scarpello, Crawford and Pearl all said they saw rumors about the Portage Park LA Fitness closing on Facebook a few weeks back. A flyer announcing the official closure was posted on the gym’s door this week, they said. Members will be able to access any other LA Fitness, Esporta Fitness and City Sports Club locations starting Feb. 21, according to the flyer.

There is an LA Fitness in Mayfair at 4705 W. Foster Ave., but many members said the appeal of the Portage Park location was its walkability.

“It’s frustrating, the idea that every time you want to go to the gym, you have to pay to park or take the bus,” Scarpello said.

The Mayfair LA Fitness will likely grow more crowded after the Portage Park gym closes, Scarpello said. The Portage Park location was one of the most crowded gyms Scarpello said she’d ever been to.

Crawford called the closure “blindsiding” and questioned why LA Fitness gave members only one month’s notice via a posted flyer, despite having members’ emails on file.

“There’s going to be people who don’t go the gym for a month or are out of town, and then they’re going to show up one day and it’s closed,” he said.

Pearl said she worries the gym’s closure will harm local businesses. The 19,800-square-foot gym is across the street from Portage Park and sits right next to Portage Grounds Coffee, and it brought a lot of foot traffic to the area, she said.

“There are already so many empty storefronts in the neighborhood. The more places that close, it’s just going to become less and less appealing to open a new business here,” Pearl said. “It was just the perfect spot for a community gym.”

Ald. Ruth Cruz (30th), whose ward includes the gym, also learned about the closure on social media, she said. She said she will contact the local chamber of commerce and other fitness businesses to try to bring a new gym to the building.

“We’re saddened to hear about the closing, but we’re looking forward to the future and we hope to bring a thriving business to that area,” Cruz said.

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