NEWS Staff Report
Online chatter is abuzz with speculation that the nationally renowned health & fitness franchise is eyeing the Resaca City as a potential site for one of its gym locations.
According to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, investors are looking to build a 21,279-square-foot Planet Fitness at 1050 US Business 77 in San Benito.
The project is estimated to cost $5.650M, with construction slated to start on July 27 of this year.
According to the document, the estimated completion date is May 31, 2027. The project is privately funded and will be located on private land for private use, according to the document.
The ownership is registered to DMCLF, Inc., based in Spring, Texas, and the design firm, PB2 Architecture + Engineering, is based in Rogers, Arkansas.
Planet Fitness recently opened a facility on Dixieland Road in Harlingen after years at a location on the other side of town.
Planet Fitness is known for its budget-friendly membership plans and its no-intimidation policies, which attract newcomers, older clients, and novice clients seeking an intimidation-free workout experience.
According to its website, Planet Fitness was founded in 1992 in Dover, NH, by brothers Michael and Marc Grondahl.
The brothers’ first gym in their small hometown competed for the same customers by targeting the approximately 15-20% of the U.S. population who worked out and belonged to a health club.
In 1993, the Grondahl brothers hired Chris Rondeau to work the front desk. Rondeau and the Grondahls quickly recognized a greater opportunity to serve a much larger segment of the population by asking themselves, “Why does 80-85% of the population not belong to a gym?” The answer? First-time and casual gym users didn’t like the “look-at-me” attitudes and behaviors typical of gyms, and they didn’t want to pay a lot to try fitness.
Together, they transformed the gym environment, both in attitude and format, creating the non-intimidating, low-cost model.
Planet Fitness became known as the “Judgment Free Zone®” – a welcoming, friendly community where people could feel comfortable regardless of their fitness level, according to its website.
To focus more on what first-timers and casual gym-goers really wanted – cardio, circuit training, and light free weights – they removed group exercise, daycare, and heavy free weights and reallocated that space accordingly.
Because more room was made for cardio equipment, they didn’t have to impose time limits on popular equipment, so members didn’t have to wait to work out.
Removing heavy free weights also helped eliminate intimidating “Lunk” behaviors, such as grunting and dropping weights.
To top it off, they slashed standard membership fees to just $10 per month, allowing anyone to join without compromising the quality of the facilities or the experience.
Eventually, they added a second membership option for $24.99 per month, which included additional amenities such as access to any Planet Fitness club, HydroMassage®, massage chairs, tanning, and the ability to bring a guest for free at any time.
Membership increased dramatically, and the site was attracting more members than ever.
Today, Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States, in terms of both membership and locations.
With 2,909 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia, and Spain, Planet Fitness continues to advance its mission to enhance people’s lives by providing an affordable, high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, according to its website.
While some have expressed concern that the establishment of such an industry juggernaut will harm local mom-and-pop fitness centers, the public response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Cameron County is experiencing a lot of economic activity. The City of San Benito is about to receive its first Planet Fitness. During my discussion with the operations representative at the conference in February 2026, I pitched the need for our growing community. I don’t know if my discussion motivated them, but I’m happy to be the first to welcome them to our growing community,” San Benito Mayor Pedro “Pete” Galvan posted on social media.
Former San Benito Economic Development (EDC) Board Chair Julian Rios said the EDC was also in discussions with the health and fitness giant in 2023, pitching the former Bealls shopping center site on Business 77 as a potential location. “I guess they decided to build their own,” Rios said.