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Onelife Fitness is considering transforming the soon-to-be-vacant Saks Fifth Avenue at Tysons Galleria into a full-service fitness center.
The proposal would convert the two-story department store at 2201 International Drive into exercise areas, studios and other indoor recreational spaces, according to land-use attorney Evan Pritchard of Wire Gill.
In an April 11 letter to Fairfax County Zoning Administrator Leslie Johnson, Pritchard asked whether the conversion could be approved through the county’s special-exception process or would require an amendment to Tysons Galleria’s development plan.
Pritchard argued that the proposed reuse would not increase the development’s overall intensity and would fit the mall’s mixed-use character.
Saks Fifth Avenue is expected to close its Tysons Galleria location at the end of May following its parent company’s January bankruptcy filing. The store has anchored the mall since it opened in 1988. Closing sales began March 13 and are set to continue over the next month at all 18 locations slated to shut down.
Onelife Fitness declined to comment on the potential Tysons Galleria facility. Mall owner Brookfield Properties did not respond to an inquiry and has previously declined to discuss tenant changes.
The mall could provide a relocation option for Onelife’s existing gym near The Boro at 8250 Greensboro Drive. That 85,300-square-foot property has been targeted for redevelopment with residential towers containing as many as 652 apartments under Paradigm Companies’ latest plan.
Submitted in February 2025, the rezoning application remains under county staff review. Public hearings are scheduled for Sept. 9 before the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Sept. 22 before the Board of Supervisors.
Onelife also operates a Signature Club at 1800 Old Meadow Road near the McLean Metro station and is preparing to expand into the Mosaic District in Merrifield.
The company announced in November that it plans to open a 53,000-square-foot health club later this year in the former Custom Ink offices at 2910 District Avenue. Plans call for training areas, exercise equipment, boxing and cycling studios, spaces for mat classes such as yoga, and recovery therapy.
Its other Northern Virginia locations include Reston, Falls Church near Seven Corners, Bailey’s Crossroads, Burke and the Fair Oaks area.