MORGANTOWN – A representative of Planet Fitness said Wednesday that a second Monongalia County location of the popular fitness chain is anticipating an early September opening in the University Town Centre.
The new gym will be located at 1001 Mountaineer Drive, at the former site of a 12-screen movie theater that operated under multiple banners between November 2005 and January 2025.
The property was on the Monongalia County Commission’s Wednesday agenda.
The commission approved an order modifying the boundaries of the University Town Centre Economic Opportunity Development District to add two parcels – the 6.44-acre parcel that will be the future home of Planet Fitness, and the 1.05-acre parcel at 7 Chaplin Hill Road, where the newly opened 7 Brew Coffee is located.
Both parcels were already within the footprint of the TIF district, which captures the increase in property taxes for development within the district.
The commission’s order brings the properties into the district in terms of capturing sales taxes that otherwise would go to the state.
The commission previously approved a similar order for the Raising Canes property at 3515 University Town Centre Drive.
“When we add property, we have to take property out. We don’t have to take property out here because when we took property out for the Raising Canes addition, we took out more than enough property, and it covers the acreage that’s also added with this action,” Commissioner Sean Sikora said.
In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, Chief Tax Deputy Kelly Palmer presented the county’s 2025 delinquent tax list.
All told, there was a total of $7,868,224.83 in delinquent taxes, broken down by real estate ($5,289,180.93) and personal property ($2,579,043.90) as of the April 30 deadline.
That number represents about 6.38% of the total county taxes to be collected.
These taxes aren’t written off.
If arrangements for payment are not made, the properties will be certified to the state auditor and eventually auctioned off by the auditor’s office.
“The auditor’s office just held the sale last week for the 2024 delinquent real estate taxes,” Palmer said. “And so we sold a good portion of those that are viable.”
Palmer previously said the county typically ends up collecting all but about 1% of the outstanding totals.
