With the future opening of Athens Athletic Club, Athens residents will soon have access to more than just a traditional gym. Athens Athletic Club is set to open in 2027, featuring a 61,700-square-foot facility that combines fitness training, recovery services and medical spa treatments under one roof.
The club describes itself as a comprehensive wellness concept and as Athens’ first “athletic country club,” a membership-based model with a goal of “setting the standard for wellness in Athens.”
“We saw an opportunity to create a destination where fitness, recovery and medical wellness are fully integrated under one roof,” Nick Parisian, director of membership experience, said.
The facility will include a 10,000-square-foot open fitness floor, along with specialized spaces such as a heated yoga studio, reformer pilates studio, outdoor pickleball courts and a multi-sport turf area. Recovery services include cold plunge baths, dry saunas, steam rooms and hot tubs.
Rather than functioning as a traditional gym, the club is designed as a more comprehensive experience.
“We’re a full lifestyle performance ecosystem. It’s not like we’re just some gym where you go get your work out and leave,” Parisian said. “This is definitely a place where you want people to spend time with and be amongst community and family.”
In addition to its fitness and recovery spaces, the club will offer expanded health benefits including physical therapy, personal training and nutrition coaching. A medical spa will provide cosmetic and therapeutic services such as botox, microneedling and GLP-1 treatments.
The leadership team says that these services are meant to work together rather than exist separately.
“They’re all complementary to each other,” Chris Lonsford, director of club operations, said. “People want to feel better, look better and live longer, and with all of these services, we can help them do just that.”
Athens Athletic Club also highlights a community-focused approach. The facility will offer childcare services, along with co-working and meeting spaces.
“The root of this is we wanted to build a place where people with like minded goals and like minded individuals can meet and better themselves,” Lee Muse, director of branding, said. “We want to start building our community and getting people engaged and getting people active even before we open our doors.”
Memberships will be limited, with an open waitlist for prospective members. Lonsford said that the membership cap is in place to maintain the “exclusive, upscale, luxury environment” that the club will offer.
The club’s leadership team includes Lonsford, Parisian, Trista Parisian, director of programming and Ben Deloach, director of performance and wellness. The group brings combined experience in fitness, business operations and physical therapy.
Athens Athletic Club is scheduled to open in early 2027 at 1660 Plaza Parkway. Potential members can join the club’s waitlist as construction continues ahead of the opening.