Fitness center proposed at former Target in Commack 

A 144,000-square-foot resort-style fitness center may be coming to a former Target store in Commack, Smithtown officials said. 

A floor plan for LifeTime Fitness filed with town planners calls for two basketball courts and three pools along with spaces for yoga, massage, weightlifting and children’s play. The fitness center would take over space formerly occupied by a Target at 4 Henry St. in the Commack South Shopping Center. The store closed last February. Plans call for 716 parking spaces, with room for an additional 114 if needed.

John Baker, PJ Venture vice president for construction and development, said, “We’re a good year out” from opening, and that leases and town approvals are still being finalized. “There are a lot of steps to go through.” Town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said the fitness center would be “a great addition to the community” and would help the town buck a national trend of retail sites closing under pressure from online shopping. 

The town board is scheduled March 3 to take up an amendment of the 30-year-old agreement with PJ Venture that limits the amount of wastewater that can be generated at the site, which sits in one of several special groundwater protection areas across Long Island. 

That amendment would increase the limit from 19,528 gallons per day flowing into septic systems to 28,914 gallons. Within about two years, PJ Venture would connect the shopping center to a sewage treatment plant that serves the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge, formerly known as the Hauppauge Industrial Park, said town principal planner Allyson Murray. The developer will also need to file for a site plan exemption, an administrative process that typically takes a month or two.

LifeTime has more than 145 “athletic resort destinations” across the United States, including facilities in Syosset and Garden City, according to the company website. A Westchester location was projected to cost an estimated $40 million to build, Newsday reported in 2012. Memberships at the Long Island facilities start at $179 per month.

By Nicholas Spangler

nicholas.spangler@newsday.comspanglernewsday

Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.