Former Totem Lake Joe's Becoming LA Fitness Club

The third incarnation of a commercial parcel near Interstate 405 in the Totem Lake area that once hosted a Larry's Market and then a Joe's sporting goods will be as a new club in the national LA Fitness chain.

Work began recently to demolish a portion of the former 60,463-square-foot Joe's just off NE 124th Street and remodel it as a fitness club, complete with a swimming pool, according to a building permit issued last year by the City of Kirkland.

"It's a fairly invasive remodel," said Tom Jensen, plan review supervisor in Kirkland's Building and Construction Department. "It's a partial demolition and remodel into a fitness club."

The permit was issued to James E. John Construction for LA Fitness, a national chain that was founded in Southern California in 1984, and the remodel is being designed by C2K Architecture of Portland, Ore. There are currently several LA Fitness clubs in the Seattle area, including in Ballard, Bellevue, Lynnwood, Everett and Kent.

The permit calls for the demolition of 10,870 square feet of the former structure, but the on-line permit document does not specify how large the final building will be. It appears that the southernmost portion of the former Joe's building was recently removed, and the rest stripped down to the superstructure.

Started as a surplus store in Portland, Ore., in 1952 as GI Joe's, the company grew to a chain of 31 stores, becoming just Joe's in 2009, and going bankrupt in 2009.

The LA Fitness web site says its stores offer state-of-the art equipment and facilities, with Yoga, Pilates and various other fitness classes such as aqua aerobics, as well as personal trainers.