A former Big Lots in Durham has a new tenant. Here’s what will open there
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Onelife Fitness will open in a former Durham Big Lots near I-40 and US-501.
- The fitness chain plans around 15 Triangle locations over the next several years.
- The site will hire about 100 staff members and offer amenities including indoor pools.
A former Durham Big Lots will soon be home to a new tenant, one of the newest names in fitness in North Carolina.
The 58,000-square-foot site near I-40 and US-501 will become a Onelife Fitness, the health club chain with current or planned gyms across seven states and Washington, D.C.
Onelife Fitness, founded in 2011, is making its North Carolina debut in Apex, CEO Ori Gorfine told The News & Observer in an interview. The facility is expected to open this fall in the former Beaver Creek Cinemas, a Regal movie theater at the Beaver Creek Crossings shopping center.
At Onelife Fitness, members have access to a strength training area, cardio equipment, an indoor saltwater pool, cold plunge, saunas, recovery therapies (such as red light therapy and HydroMassage) and group fitness classes. That comes with a price tag of less than $50 per month.
“What we’ve basically said is, why do you have to pay $200 a person to have access to these types of services, these types of amenities,” Gorfine said.
Durham’s Onelife Fitness, located at 3420 Southwest Durham Drive, is expected to open in summer 2026.
Each Onelife Fitness location will hire about 100 full-time and part-time employees.
Onelife Fitness plans expansion in Triangle
The health club chain has been eyeing the Triangle for expansion, Gorfine said, and plans to open 15 locations in the region in coming years.
“It’s attracting a lot of young families,” he said of the area. “It has a strong sense of community identity. It’s a very active population, very outdoorsy.”
Onelife Fitness saw an opportunity in the Triangle to satisfy a need unmet by boutique fitness studios and large chains alike, Gorfine said.
While the specific sites have not yet been announced, Gorfine said the company is having conversations about potential new locations.
“60,000-square-foot-plus locations don’t grow on trees,” Gorfine said. “They’re certainly hard to find. And so we’re very selective in our real estate. We have to look for the right locations to either build a club or the right opportunities to convert.”
When selecting a site for a new Onelife Fitness, the company searches for suburban areas near neighborhoods with easy access to major roadways.
There isn’t a specific timeline for opening forthcoming Onelife Fitness locations, but Gorfine said the company plans to open a few new locations every year over several years.
Big Lots locations in the Triangle
North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers took over 50 North Carolina Big Lots locations that were previously expected to close permanently amid bankruptcy.
Variety Wholesalers previously told The N&O that the 50 locations — including some in Selma, Wake Forest and Fuquay-Varina — were all expected to open by June. But most of the Triangle’s Big Lots stores are gone for good.
One store, at 6540 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh, is becoming a Planet Fitness. Another former Triangle Big Lots at 1515 Garner Station Blvd. is now occupied by Grand Slam USA.
