A rendering of the building, which currently has a tall red mansard roof. (Courtesy Thalhimer)
The planned reinvention of the former Family Dollar store in Forest Hill has its first tenants on board.
Local franchisees of gym chain Burn Boot Camp have signed on for space at the soon-to-be redeveloped building at 1202 Westover Hills Blvd.
Developers Birck Turnbull and Charles Bice own the building and have begun work to revive it with multiple new commercial tenants.
They also recently finalized a second lease with another health-related business whose offerings will include physical therapy and pilates classes; however, the tenant said they’re not yet ready to share full details.
Burn Boot Camp is leasing about 5,000 square feet for what will be the brand’s eighth location in the region.
Elyse Reynolds
The Forest Hill franchise will be operated by Elyse Reynolds, who owns the Burn Boot Camp in western Henrico, along with Anna Miller and Rebecca Craft, who co-own the chain’s Atlee location.
Reynolds said that since buying her location on Lauderdale Drive in 2022, it’s grown from about 200 to 650 members, prompting her to look to expand. She specifically wanted to get into to the Forest Hill area, but struggled to find space.
“I really had my heart set on that specific location, so I had to wait around awhile and kind of beg Burn HQ to give me more time. I’ve known about that area for a while … and I know that they have so many young families,” Reynolds said. “I told my business partners, ‘We’re going to get in the car and drive around, and we’re just going to start calling people if we see a building, and ask.’ That’s literally what we did.”
Burn Boot Camp offers 45-minute classes that combine strength, cardiovascular and body-weight training exercises. Classes start at $21 and unlimited monthly memberships go for $159. With free childcare services during classes, Burn Boot Camp has historically been geared toward mothers with young children, Reynolds said.
For years the space had been a Family Dollar. (Mike Platania photo)
They eventually came across the Westover Hills Boulevard property finalized a lease for Burn. Turnbull, who’s also a broker with Thalhimer, is marketing the space with colleague Annie O’Connor.
Reynolds said the space is being delivered turnkey and the owners hope to open in the summer. Locations typically have a staff of around 35 and run seven or eight classes per day.
The second, to-be-announced tenant is taking about 6,500 square feet in the building, leaving about 4,000 square feet that Turnbull said could work as a restaurant with an outdoor patio.
Turnbull and Bice bought the property in 2018, while Family Dollar was still operating there. The discount retailer closed the store last year and work is now underway on the interior ahead of the arrival of new tenants. Fultz & Singh Architects is designing the reimagined space and Corinthian Construction is the general contractor.
Turnbull and Bice also developed the nearby Veil Brewing Co.-anchored Hill Standard building and over in the Fan, Turnbull is renovating the former Fieldens club building at 2033 W. Broad St. He said the nine apartments in that building should be completed in May, after which marketing of its ground-floor commercial space will begin.
