Planet Fitness Sets Sights on Florida’s Gulf Coast With New Franchise Development Push
Planet Fitness is preparing for another wave of expansion along Florida’s Gulf Coast after signing three new area development agreements with Ian McClure, CEO of Gulf Coast Hotel Management, bringing an experienced hospitality and real estate developer into the company’s franchise network.
Announced August 6, the agreements are intended to expand Planet Fitness along Florida’s west coast. The company has not publicly identified the individual communities or properties involved, nor has it announced the total number of clubs that could ultimately be developed or a timetable for the first openings.
That distinction is important.
This is not simply an announcement of three new Planet Fitness locations. The company announced three area development agreements, and McClure has said he intends to bring the Planet Fitness brand to more communities across Florida. Exactly how many clubs ultimately emerge from those agreements remains to be seen.
For commercial real estate professionals along Florida’s Gulf Coast, that makes the announcement considerably more interesting than a typical single-location franchise deal.
A Real Estate Developer Behind the Expansion
Planet Fitness is placing its next phase of west coast Florida development in the hands of an operator whose background extends well beyond fitness.
McClure leads Dallas-based Gulf Coast Hotel Management, which is currently developing more than 30 extended-stay hotel properties across Florida, Texas and Colorado. He also oversees real estate development companies with assets across 14 states and previously worked in retail and multifamily real estate development.
That experience could become particularly relevant as the company begins evaluating where future Planet Fitness clubs make sense.
This is not a franchisee entering the market without previous development experience. McClure’s organization is already accustomed to evaluating markets, identifying properties, developing real estate and managing multiple assets across geographically diverse regions.
Planet Fitness Chief Development Officer Chip Ohlsson said Gulf Coast Hotel Management’s operating and hospitality experience made the organization a strong addition to the franchise system, while pointing to continued opportunities for the brand to expand its presence in Florida. McClure, meanwhile, cited Planet Fitness’ established operating model and brand strength as factors behind his decision to become a franchisee.
The partnership also reflects how Planet Fitness grows.
Approximately 90% of Planet Fitness clubs are owned and operated by independent business owners, making experienced franchise operators and their ability to identify viable new sites a critical part of the company’s expansion strategy.
Why the Expansion Matters to Gulf Coast Commercial Real Estate
The eventual location decisions could have meaningful implications for landlords, developers and commercial brokers across Florida’s west coast.
Planet Fitness says its clubs are typically around 20,000 square feet, giving the brand a substantial physical footprint compared with many smaller service and retail tenants.
For the commercial real estate market, that makes the search for future sites worth following closely.
A roughly 20,000-square-foot user can potentially become an important component of a suburban shopping center or larger-format retail property, particularly in locations where visibility, parking, convenient access and surrounding population growth support recurring customer traffic.
And unlike a traditional retailer that depends primarily on customers making individual purchases, the fitness model is driven by memberships and repeated visits. From a commercial real estate perspective, that can make a successful fitness operator an important traffic generator within a larger retail environment.
The unanswered question is where Gulf Coast Hotel Management will begin looking.
Planet Fitness has described the development territory broadly as Florida’s west coast but has not publicly named specific cities, parcels or properties connected to the three agreements.
That leaves a considerable portion of Florida’s Gulf Coast potentially in play, although it would be premature to identify individual markets as confirmed targets until Planet Fitness or its franchisee announces actual locations.
Planet Fitness Continues a Large National Development Push
The Florida agreements also arrive while Planet Fitness continues adding clubs throughout its broader system.
As of June 30, 2026, Planet Fitness reported approximately 21.5 million members and 2,930 clubs. The company opened 23 clubs during the second quarter alone, including 21 franchise-owned locations and two corporate-owned clubs.
Planet Fitness continues to project approximately 180 to 190 new club openings system-wide during 2026, showing that new-club development remains a major component of the company’s growth strategy.
The company’s financial results provide additional context.
Second-quarter revenue increased 7.1% year over year to $365.2 million, while system-wide same-club sales increased 1.7%. Planet Fitness is currently forecasting approximately 7% revenue growth for the full year while maintaining its expectation for 180 to 190 system-wide openings.
The Florida agreements therefore arrive as part of a broader and sustained club development program rather than an isolated regional move.
What makes the Gulf Coast announcement different is the development experience behind it.
Planet Fitness has effectively added a new franchise organization that already understands hospitality, retail, multifamily development and multi-state real estate operations — exactly the type of experience that could help move a territorial development strategy from an agreement on paper to actual properties.
What Comes Next for Florida’s Gulf Coast
For now, the most important part of the story remains unresolved: where will the clubs go?
Specific development territories, individual sites and opening dates have not been publicly disclosed. Until they are, maps showing portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast should be viewed as illustrative rather than confirmed Planet Fitness development locations.
But the commercial real estate implications are beginning to take shape.
Planet Fitness locations typically require around 20,000 square feet, the company expects to open as many as 190 new clubs system-wide this year, and its newest Florida franchisee already has extensive experience identifying and developing real estate across multiple states.
Florida’s Gulf Coast is now part of that development pipeline.
The immediate news may be three area development agreements, but the larger commercial real estate story begins when those agreements become addresses.
As Gulf Coast Hotel Management begins evaluating opportunities, landlords, developers and brokers will be watching where the first roughly 20,000-square-foot Planet Fitness clubs surface — and whether three development agreements ultimately translate into a much larger Planet Fitness footprint across Florida’s west coast.
