Crunch Fitness is taking over a long-vacant Jo-Ann Fabrics storefront in Kissimmee, turning a onetime craft haven into a full-service gym as franchise operator CR Fitness Holdings ramps up its Osceola County footprint. At the same time, the company is seeking approval for a separate two-story Crunch club in nearby St. Cloud, a roughly $12 million project planned for about 2.27 acres, continuing a regional pattern of fitness brands breathing new life into empty big-box retail sites left behind by chain closures.
According to the Orlando Business Journal, CR Fitness Holdings LLC has submitted plans for the St. Cloud location and has identified the vacant Joann Fabrics space in Kissimmee for a Crunch tenant. The outlet reports the St. Cloud proposal calls for a two-story club with an estimated price tag near $12 million on a site of about 2.27 acres, underscoring CR Fitness’s aggressive build-and-convert strategy across the Southeast.
CR Fitness’s Florida push
A PR Newswire release notes that in April 2025, CR Fitness announced the acquisition of nine former 24 Hour Fitness clubs in the Miami and Orlando regions as part of a broader Florida expansion. The franchisee has been converting both acquired sites and empty big-box locations into Crunch’s 3.0-design clubs, with turf training zones, specialty studios, and upgraded locker rooms, and CEO Tony Scrimale said the company was “thrilled at the opportunity to invest millions” to convert and reopen those units. A separate PR Newswire announcement detailed the 2024 opening of Crunch Poinciana in Kissimmee, highlighting CR Fitness’s willingness to pursue both new construction and reuse projects in Osceola County.
Why landlords and shoppers care
For local real estate owners, Joann’s multi-stage restructuring and store reductions have created a pipeline of mid-sized retail boxes that are relatively straightforward to retrofit, giving landlords a shot at tenants that bring consistent, repeat traffic. Industry trackers and trade coverage have chronicled Joann’s recent rounds of closures and liquidations, which have opened up former craft stores and junior-anchor spaces for new uses such as gyms. Retail Dive maintains a running list that illustrates the scale of these shakeups and the resulting pool of available space.
Approvals, timeline and what to expect
The Orlando Business Journal reports that the St. Cloud Crunch proposal remains in the permitting and review process, with no construction start or opening date yet disclosed. If the project secures local approvals, the buildout would typically move from site preparation to exterior work and interior construction over several months, and many Crunch franchise openings are paired with presale membership campaigns that begin before doors officially open. Local planning agendas and county permit records will provide the clearest hints on timing as the review moves forward.
For Kissimmee shoppers, the shift means trading yarn and yardage for weight racks and cardio machines in a familiar storefront. For strip-center landlords, it is another example of adaptive reuse keeping large spaces active rather than dark. Coverage from similar Crunch moves into vacant fitness and retail spaces shows that large-format gyms remain a popular way to fill big boxes in markets well beyond Osceola County.
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