Council approves VASA Fitness special-use review and reduced parking at former King Soopers site

The Lafayette City Council unanimously approved a special-use review and a parking modification May 20 to allow VASA Fitness to occupy the former King Soopers building at 480 North Highway 287.

Planning Director Stephen Williams explained the existing building and PUD structure and said the proposed recreation use normally triggers a special-use review under the city’s C-1 zoning. VASA will lease the space from Kroger; the applicant told the council the fitness operator will occupy roughly 55,600 square feet within the larger roughly 66,000-square-foot building.

Corey Chirr, vice president of construction for VASA Fitness, described the company as a national operator that typically adapts large retail boxes to fitness clubs. Chirr said VASA has a long-term lease with Kroger and plans a north-of-$8 million buildout for the location. He said the adaptive reuse will not add new impervious area and that VASA’s operations are contained inside the building.

The council considered a parking modification because city code prescribes a higher parking rate for recreation uses (one space per 150 square feet) than for a grocery retailer (one per 200 square feet). The applicant submitted a traffic analysis that found the proposed fitness use would generate fewer vehicle trips than the prior grocery use — the study reported about a 70% reduction in trips from the grocery baseline. The Institute of Transportation Engineers guidance cited by the applicant indicates a maximum demand figure of roughly 290 spaces for a rec facility of the scale; the applicant controls about 297 spaces on Lot 1 and requested a reduction in the required parking obligation of about 22% to align code requirements with measured demand.

Staff recommended conditions: the use is limited to indoor recreation (no outdoor classes or equipment in the parking lot), the applicant must meet building-permit requirements for ADA, EV and any additional site improvements required by the building permit review, and the PUD will be updated to reflect the new use and parking modification.

Planning Commission recommended approval prior to the council hearing. No members of the public spoke against the proposal at the council hearing; one resident and a VASA member had spoken in favor at the Planning Commission meeting. Council members asked staff about continuity of parking for other tenants in the center and accepted staff’s explanation that the applicant’s parking demand can be satisfied on Lot 1 without new cross-parking agreements.

Council then adopted Resolution No. 2025-32 approving the special-use review, approving the parking modification and authorizing the PUD amendment as conditioned. The vote was unanimous.

What’s next: VASA will complete building-permit submittals; site improvements required for ADA access, EV infrastructure and permit conditions will be addressed during building-permit review and inspection.