Victoria Place Gym in Shawville is now under new ownership. A young local couple has purchased the business with ambitious plans to bring more fitness opportunities to the facility.
Nick Emmerson and his partner Kendal Lang will relaunch the gym as Diamond Fitness in about a month’s time, complete with expanded space, new equipment, and a renewed focus on community wellness.
“I saw the potential the building had for a long time,” said Emmerson, 25 years old, who has been using the gym since he was 17.
Emmerson and Lang are in the process of renovating part of the building that was previously a flower shop to expand the gym’s footprint. The renovated area will include a new fitness studio, additional gym equipment, and a turf training zone in the future.
The new fitness studio will be available to rent by local instructors to host classes such as yoga, spin, pilates, and kickboxing. The turf area will accommodate sled push training, popular with hockey players and sports teams.
“We want to make it suitable for everyone,” Emmerson said.
Lang added that the studio classes could help make the gym more approachable for newcomers, who may not have a developed workout routine or be comfortable with the gym’s workout machines.
“I’m intimidated to go to the gym, but I really like it whenever you have classes or when gyms are more welcoming to people who have no idea how to go to the gym,” she said.
Thinking about it over the past few years, Emmerson decided to approach the previous owners, Eric and Debbie Smith, about purchasing the business.
“It was just good timing,” he said, explaining that when he approached the Smith’s about purchasing the building, they just so happened to be interested in moving into retirement.
Eric and Debbie have been running the gym at 118 Victoria Avenue for just over 10 years, after they purchased the building in spring of 2015.
Their daughter Chelsea Smith ran her flower business, House of Inspiring Flowers, in the northern end of the building since 2015.
In a May 31 Facebook post, she announced she would be closing her business for good after 13 and a half years.
“Thank you for all you have given us and all the wonderful memories. We thank you all very much it would not be possible without our valued customers,” Chelsea wrote.
Shortly after taking ownership of the building in June, Emmerson and Lang reached out to existing members via email to introduce themselves, outline their plans, and hear feedback too.
“It’s exciting to see people look forward to it too, just as well as us,” Emmerson said of the community response.
As part of the modernization effort, the gym’s access system will be upgraded to use key fobs. A grand re-opening is expected in about a month, to allow time for their renovations to be completed.
For current members, day-to-day operations remain unchanged while the building is under renovations. Membership rates, hours of operation, and access will continue as usual throughout the transition.
