Staunton's Dogwood Square sees new life with arrival of Planet Fitness

Patrick Hite, Staunton News Leader
·3 min read

STAUNTON — Like a proud parent, Vito Cetta walked around the parking lot of Dogwood Square Shopping Center early Monday afternoon showing off the recent renovations that have been made to the stores along Greenville Avenue.

Cetta, a real estate developer based in Charlottesville, co-owns Dogwood Square. Over the past four or five months, all the buildings have received a new paint job, new awnings and signage have been put up, and a mural of the flowering dogwood was painted in July by Northern Virginia-based artist Amy Tubbs. The painting can easily be seen by those passing the shopping center on Greenville Avenue, hopefully drawing attention to Dogwood Square.

Those improvements, plus new tenants including Planet Fitness, have pumped some life into the plaza that once had very little.

"The shopping center was really a third-rate center," Cetta said. "And we've done all sorts of things to make it a much more attractive place, starting with getting Planet Fitness."

The gym has more than 2,400 locations, mostly in the United States, but also in Canada, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic, according to its website. The Staunton location has been open less than two weeks, with a soft opening July 29.

"It's been very exciting," General Manager Anthony Jackson said. "It's a new thing and I believe Staunton needed this."

He said evenings have been busy, but daytime hours not as much. He expects more members to start working out during the day once kids are back in school and parents have a little more time during the day.

The hours for Staunton's Planet Fitness, per its website:

  • Monday: 5 a.m. - midnight

  • Tuesday: 24 hours

  • Wednesday: 24 hours

  • Thursday: 24 hours

  • Friday: Midnight - 10 p.m.

  • Saturday: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

  • Sunday: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Memberships are available for as low as $10 a month.

Another new store in the shopping center is The Shabby Hippie Boutique, which, according to its Facebook page, offers western and hippie midwestern style clothing. A sign on the door Monday indicated the owners are still renovating the store with plans to open "in a few weeks."

There are other stores that have been at Dogwood longer. Next to The Shabby Hippie is Song's Sewing Shop, and around the corner is All of Em, a vacuum cleaner and sewing machine shop; Cell Express; and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Next to Planet Fitness is Kokomo'z smoke shop and Super Shoes.

The storefront at the far end is currently for lease. With 20,538 square feet available, Cetta said he is looking for another big tenant about the size of Planet Fitness, which is 21,256 square feet. It's been for lease for about five months, so Cetta said it's just a waiting game.

"Certainly the retail market has been affected by online purchases," Cetta said. "But you always need some direct contact with a physical store. I'm very happy with the progress (of Dogwood Square). Planet Fitness made such a big difference. If we can get that last space rented that will make another big difference."

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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton's Dogwood Square sees new life with arrival of Planet Fitness