Upper Darby’s main shopping drag is getting a serious lifestyle upgrade, with a fast-growing gym chain and a new movie operation taking over one of 69th Street’s most visible addresses.
Fusion Gyms is set to move into multiple floors of the ornate McClatchy Building at 2 S. 69th St., right in the center of the Shops at 69th Street retail district. Reports peg the upcoming gym at somewhere between about 26,000 and 29,000 square feet, transforming a former H&M anchor into a fitness-and-entertainment magnet just outside the Philadelphia city line.
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Fusion signed a lease this month for roughly 29,000 square feet in the McClatchy Building. That report frames the deal as a marquee “experiential” lease intended to juice foot traffic around the busy transit hub.
CoStar also covered the transaction, putting the leased area at just under 26,000 square feet and noting that “Fusion Theaters,” operated by the same owner, will open at the Shops at 69th Street as part of the package. That account adds that the lease spans the ground through third floors of the McClatchy Building near the 69th Street Terminal, offering the commercial real-estate angle on how the long-vacant anchor is being reworked.
About the McClatchy Building
The John H. McClatchy Building, finished in 1928, is a standout Art Deco landmark at 69th and Market Streets, instantly recognizable for its glazed terra-cotta exterior and stained-glass entry. Architectural references and local coverage describe it as a longtime retail anchor for the district, with carefully detailed design elements that make it a favorite of preservation-minded observers. That background is laid out in SAH ARCHIPEDIA and further explored by Hidden City Philadelphia.
How This Fits Local Plans
The Shops at 69th Street sit at a major SEPTA hub, and the property has been the focus of ongoing efforts to reposition the district around entertainment, dining, and fitness to keep the streets busy beyond the standard 9-to-5 retail window. Local reporting and the center’s marketing materials describe a mix of national chains and independent tenants and highlight the site’s proximity to transit and nearby cultural staples such as the Tower Theater. Delco Today and the center’s offering memorandum both outline those goals.
Timeline And The Bigger Picture
Neither the Philadelphia Business Journal nor CoStar reported a firm opening date for the new Fusion location, and leasing materials likewise did not list a public timetable for the theater’s debut. Both outlets simply note the deal without pinning down when gym-goers or movie fans will be able to walk through the doors.
The move fits into a broader regional trend of turning former mall anchors into hubs for fitness and entertainment, a pattern that has played out elsewhere in the area as Fusion and other operators have taken over large, empty department-store boxes. That shift was highlighted when Fusion’s earlier expansion into a former Macy’s at Neshaminy Mall brought golf, pickleball, and basketball into a onetime retail cavern, as reported by PhillyVoice.
