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Carlos Augusto Garcia

Carlos Augusto Garcia

Los Angeles, CA, US

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Fitler Club

Imagine the social club of your dreams: one with the harmonious co-working set-up of a WeWork; the jacked-up fitness offerings of an Equinox; the high-minded design ethos and cool cachet of a Soho House; and the community-driven, big ideas bravado of San Francisco’s The Battery. That’s what the Fitler Club, Philadelphia’s newest lifestyle enterprise, aspires to be.

The members-only club, which officially opened June 2, sits on the hinterlands of Philadelphia’s Center City—where the Market Street bridge begins to connect it to University City—in a hulking concrete-and-brick building overlooking the Schuylkill, which long ago housed the Hudson Motor Car factory.

Its features, spread across the building’s first three stories—a whopping 136,000 square feet of space—are almost Dubai-levels of extra in scope: there are two restaurants and three bars (chef Marc Vetri serves as culinary advisor); a plush, 50-seat movie theater; 14 hotel rooms and suites, which are also available to non-members and start at $400 per night (members receive a reduced rate); private office suites and workspaces; a 25,000-square-foot fitness space offering classes, private training, an HD golf simulator, a fully equipped spa and salon, and more; and event space, complete with a bowling alley.

The swim club is projected to open atop an adjacent building; according to current renderings, there will be covered and terraced cabanas, a 75-foot lap pool, a children’s pool, and recreation space. If it seems tailor-made for Type-A folks who want to transition seamlessly from their high-octane, 5 a.m. work-outs to an egg white frittata breakfast before powering up their laptops, that's because it is.

 
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Status: Built
Location: Philadelphia, PA, US
My Role: Project Manager
Additional Credits: M-Rad Inc.