Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia is set to get a new rock climbing gym later this month. Movement Gyms plans to open a 41,000-square-foot facility near Fishtown by late November. The Colorado-based company announced the construction of its second Philly location last year, and recently unveiled the opening timeline on Instagram. The space at 1700 N. American Street “will feature outstanding amenities and serve as a hub for cultivating community ties and personal growth,” Jeremy Levitt, Movement’s CEO, said last year in a statement. A spokesperson did not return requests for additional comment. The gym will be Movement’s second in the city: In 2023, the company bought the Cliffs chain, including the Cliffs at Callowhill, which at the time was Pennsylvania’s largest climbing facility at 37,000 square-feet. Movement is betting on high climbing demand in Philly. The Fishtown facility is three-tenths of a mile from the 12,700-square-foot Tufas Boulder Lounge, a mile from a 6,000-square-foot Philadelphia Rock Gym outpost, and two miles from Movement’s Callowhill location. » READ MORE: Best places for indoor and outdoor rock climbing in the Philly region Movement Fishtown is set to include 29,000-square-feet of climbing space, with walls as high as 42 feet and sections for both rope-climbing and bouldering, according to its website. The gym will also have cardio and strength-training areas, a yoga studio, and a gear shop. It is set to offer climbing, yoga, and other fitness classes. Before it was acquired by the rock gym, the North American Street property sat vacant for years, said Steve Jeffries, who represented the landlord. The massive climbing facility was custom-built “with all the bells and whistles,” he said. The space is unique for the neighborhood, given its size and the fact that it’s single-use, not mixed-use, said Jeffries. He said he thinks Movement will be an ideal fit. “There is a big market in our region for rock climbing,” said Jeffries, executive vice president of Equity CRE. Across the country, interest in climbing has grown in recent years, something industry experts attribute to popular documentaries like “Free Solo” and to climbing becoming an Olympic sport. Some young professionals and families are attracted to indoor gyms as a way to socialize, unplug from screens, and get in a good workout, the New York Times wrote in 2019. As a result, more gyms have been opening. Nationwide, there were 622 commercial climbing facilities at the end of 2023, compared to 353 in 2014, according to the Climbing Business Journal, which tracks industry trends. Last year, the Journal called Movement the world’s largest climbing gym developer. Movement currently operates 31 gyms across the U.S., from California to New York. Along with the Fishtown facility, a Fairfax, Va. location is also set to open soon.
