Luxury Fitness Complex Life Time Coming To Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Luxury fitness company Life Time is moving full steam ahead on their plans to open a massive complex in Middletown, especially as last month a judge threw out a legal challenge that sought to prevent Life Time from opening.

Life Time plans to open a 120,000-square-foot, three-story fitness and wellness complex on Half Mile Road in Middletown, just off Exit 109 on the Garden State Parkway, according to the company.

Life Time first presented their plans to Middletown in 2018, and no opening date has been set nor has construction even begun.

Life Time's Middletown site would be a three-story building with two pools and a beach club at ground level. Life Time sells private memberships. Life Time does not want to be thought of as a gym, but more as one-stop-location for fitness and wellness needs, serving everyone from singles in their 20s to families to seniors.

"Think resort-style: Pools, lounge chairs, bistro, etc.," said Natalie Bushaw, a spokeswoman for the company. "Life Time delivers a comprehensive healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment experience to encompass the entire spectrum of daily life for individuals, couples and families of all ages."

"One thing we are not is a gym – what we hear often from members is we’re 'Today’s modern country club without the golf,'" she told Patch.

The Middletown location would be the sixth Life Time site in New Jersey (there are existing Life Time gyms in Bridgewater, Bergen County/Montvale, Berkeley Heights, Florham Park, Mount Laurel and Princeton). The company started with its first location Florham Park in 2008.

As the Asbury Park Press reported, Life Time faced a legal challenge from a local periodontist, Dr. Anthony DiCesare, who owns DiCesare Periodontal and Implant Center on Half Mile Road. However, in February a judge dismissed DiCesare's lawsuit, allowing development of the Life Time site to move forward.

"I'm going to keep fighting them," DiCesare vowed to Patch. "I plan to appeal. I know I am only an annoyance to them and these are people with huge pockets. But I'm going to take this as far as I can go."

DiCesare said traffic along Newman Springs and Half Mile Road will only get worse should Life Time be built. He also said this is part of an overall problem of increasing traffic and development coming to Middletown.

"To make that left is taking your life in your hands," he said. "And after COVID and when they put this gym in there, it will be triple murder. Drive along Rt. 35 by Circus Liquors. The traffic is horrible and the town is operating off the principle that if (a new development) brings more money to the town, it will be approved and to heck whatever happens."

"This thing is also going to kill local, small gyms in the area," he warned. "There are probably 200-300 little gyms within a half-mile circle of my office. People need to catch on."

DiCesare told Patch he is also angry Middletown quietly changed the zoning on that site to allow Life Time to be built; DiCesare named Middletown Twp. in his lawsuit.

"At first, Life Time couldn't do it; it didn't fit the zoning. The Planning Board first rejected this because it did not fit the zoning," he said. "So what the town did is rezone that as an area in need of rehabilitation. It's the only way they could pass it.Yes, it was legal but it was really a dirty trick."

A spokeswoman for Life Time confirmed to Patch the lawsuit was rejected, said she had no further comment and said the community is "excited" for the wellness complex to open.

"Early on, the approval of the project created some excitement with the community, and now again last week following the judge’s decision," said Bushaw. "At this time, I don’t have anything to add following that decision but suffice it to say, this is a great market and one we’re excited about for our Life Time future."

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