Gym wants to take over New Generation building in Bendigo

Viva Leisure has asked the City of Greater Bendigo for permission to transform the building into a 24-hour gym trading off of the company's "Club Lime" brand.

The gym could hold up to 57 patrons and two staff members during peak periods, the company told the council.

It would need 28 car parks, of which five would be on site.

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Gym patrons would need to find 23 spaces in streets around the facility, Viva Leisure's traffic consultants estimated.

They based their projections off of demand for Melbourne-based gyms with a similar mixture of public transport links and nearby bicycle routes to those in Wills Street.

The surveys in Brunswick West, Dandenong and South Yarra found that 46 per cent of patrons drove to sites on average.

Another 27 per cent walked, 10 per cent took public transport and another 16 per cent either rode their bikes or were dropped off.

Staff members usually drove.

Patrons would have access to on-site bike storage, Viva Leisure told the Bendigo council.

Traffic consultants also conducted traffic counts in the city centre and found a minimum of 227 spare spaces available in the area even when demand peaked at noon on a Friday.

There were 197 parks free at noon on a Saturday, they told the council.

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Viva Leisure expected its busiest times of day would not fall in the same periods, particularly on weekdays.

"On weekend days, patron demands are expected to generally be spread evenly across the day (as opposed to during a particular window)," its traffic consultants told the council.

Viva Leisure also plans to refurbish the inside of the building and update its exterior.

It said the exterior's new paint job and signage keep with the wider area's generally commercial nature.

The ACT-based company has rapidly expanded its venue numbers nationwide in recent years.

It already had 102 locations, Viva Leisure told the Australian Stock Exchange last February. That included venues operating under eight brands.

It had another 15 scheduled to open soon, with 29 more sites under negotiation.

It aimed to have 400 corporate-owned locations by 2025.

New Generation Clothing has confirmed that it intends to keep a presence in Bendigo but is yet to reveal further details.

The council is currently considering Viva Leisure's proposal.

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