Rejoice, Herriman exercise enthusiasts! City approval was secured for the development of a Life Time Fitness center at the Aug. 27 Herriman City Council meeting. “The City Council has approved a master development agreement for a new Life Time Fitness, clearing the way for the athletic country club-style facility,” the city’s website says. 

The new gym is set to be located at 4684 West and 12600 South. “We're excited for their willingness to come into the community,” Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer said. “[It] will be… sandwiched between Maverik on 126th and Mountain View… just across from Garage Grill… on that east side of Mountain View corridor.”

Before the council made the agreement official, the Planning Commission approved the subdivision and conditional use earlier in August.

As of early September, Life Time Fitness hadn’t yet announced the new Herriman location, but as far as the city is concerned, the developers have a green light. "The council did approve this MDA with them,” Herriman Communications Manager Jonathan LaFollette said. 

When UDOT has completed an environmental impact study, it plans to construct a southward spur of U-111. When this is finished, UDOT plans to take ownership of 12600 South. (Image courtesy UDOT)

Planned as the second Life Time location in Utah, the Herriman center is slated to offer a 102,000-square-foot building housing a selection of equipment, pickleball courts, group classes, an outdoor pool and training and recovery areas.

The development agreement combines multiple types of building materials with a prominent sign, an iron fence and a bank of landscaping outside the fence. The buffer between the facility and the nearest neighborhood has also been widened.

“They asked for some exceptions, and it made sense to us,” Palmer said. “They're going to [move] it… further away from that back property and build a berm with some landscaping, which I think will be a better fit.”

“The agreement allows for modifications to fencing, signage and building materials, and includes a reduction in transportation impact fees tied to improvements along 12600 South,” the city’s website says.

Impact fees are collected from developers by local governments to offset the cost of the increased strain on public infrastructure that comes with new development. The lower impact fees to be paid by Life Time Fitness are largely due to the Utah Department of Transportation’s upcoming plans to take over ownership of 12600 South. 

“The state legislature passed a bill a few years ago to plan a jurisdictional transfer from Herriman City (and Riverton City for parts east of Herriman) to UDOT,” LaFollette said. “This applies to 12600 South from Bangerter Highway westward. East of Bangerter, it is already UDOT’s road.”

A new Life Time Fitness center is planned for the corner of 12600 South and Mountain View Corridor near Maverik. (Image courtesy Google Maps)

Life Time will not be required to pay the full impact fees to Herriman because the city will no longer be responsible for projects that those impact fees would have funded. After the transfer, Herriman will not need to allocate funds for improvement and maintenance of 12600 South. 

“The city cannot collect fees for projects it does not complete,” LaFollette said. “Because UDOT is taking over the road relatively soon, we’re not going to charge impact fees for potential road improvements that UDOT could come in and do or redo.”

The ownership transfer won’t take place until UDOT has completed its realignment of U-111, which involves another road heading south from Bacchus Highway that will eventually connect with Herriman Blvd. Construction on the new U-111 is expected to begin next year and continue through 2027. 

“The [road ownership] transfer will take place shortly after that,” LaFollette said. “Life Time has not yet provided a timeline to the city for the development of the property.” 

“We're thrilled to have Life Time coming. [This is a] big investment in our community,” Palmer said. “[A] perfect fit for that location… It’ll be a nice gym.”