A new Pilates studio featuring 14 reformers is on track to open at SouthPark Center in Strongsville, with owner Christine Garcia planning to welcome fitness customers by August 31, subject to construction timelines. The 2,971-square-foot space will be the second Bodybar Pilates location in Ohio, following the brand's state debut in Centerville near Dayton in late 2025.
From Hospital Administration to Reformer Pilates
Garcia spent nearly 20 years working in hospital administration for the federal government and was on track to become a hospital CEO before she discovered Pilates during postpartum recovery, according to the seed report from Cleveland.com. She has said Pilates helped her heal both physically and mentally, and that it changed her life to the point where she wanted to bring confidence and strength to her community. Garcia considered completing a Pilates certification and becoming an instructor herself, and she credits her husband with encouraging her to open her own studio instead. She went on to complete both online and in-studio Pilates training before launching Bodybar Pilates Strongsville, and she has said she plans to open additional studios across Northeast Ohio.
The Strongsville studio will offer Bodybar's signature athletic Pilates classes, led by certified instructors and designed to support strength, balance, mobility, and overall well-being for all fitness levels. Classes will run on state-of-the-art Pilates equipment, and the studio will include a private training room in addition to its reformer floor. Bodybar Pilates is reachable by phone at 440-638-1519 or by email at [email protected], and studio details are posted at bodybarpilates.com/studios/ohio/strongsville.
Community Previews Ahead of Opening
In the months leading up to the opening, the studio hosted community preview workouts to introduce locals to the studio team, including a Pilates in the Park session at Strongsville's Town Center Park on June 17 and a Mats and Mimosas event with Market 42 in neighboring Brunswick three days later, according to a release distributed via PR Newswire. Those events offered free or discounted introductory workouts as part of the studio's local marketing push. Bodybar is also offering a 15 percent discount to founding members who join during August.
Kamille McCollum, Bodybar Pilates' chief brand officer, president and co-founder, said Strongsville is an active and welcoming community that is a natural fit for the brand. The studio sits inside SouthPark Center, which spans approximately 1.68 million square feet and ranks among the largest enclosed regional shopping centers in Ohio, per the property's own profile cited via Wikipedia. The mall is managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group and anchored by retailers including Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Dick's House of Sport and Cinemark.
An Affluent Suburb Fits the Boutique Fitness Model
Strongsville's demographics help explain why a boutique fitness brand is betting on the suburb. U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimates show Strongsville has a median household income of $103,253, roughly 1.6 times higher than Cuyahoga County's median income of $64,468, according to figures compiled by Census Reporter. The suburb has a population of roughly 46,000 residents and an 82 percent homeownership rate. Strongsville's arrival followed OnSite Retail Group's brokering of Bodybar's initial Ohio deal in Centerville, which marked the franchise's first foothold in the state.
Bodybar Pilates is part of a franchise network that had grown to 81 studios by the time the Strongsville location was announced. The brand's national expansion has been rapid: it grew its footprint by 60 percent in 2025 alone, opening 27 new locations to reach 73 operating studios across 21 states by the end of that year, according to Franchise Dictionary Magazine. The company went on to reach a milestone 100th studio opening announcement this month in Presidio, Texas, driven by three-year revenue growth of 567 percent, as reported by Athletech News. Bodybar has said it plans to open 60 additional studios across the country over the next year.
Reformer Pilates Rides a National Boom
The Strongsville opening lands amid what industry researchers describe as a surge in reformer-based Pilates demand nationally. Market research published in May by MMCG Invest found Pilates was the most-booked workout category on ClassPass for the third consecutive year in 2025, with reformer Pilates specifically registering a 71 percent year-over-year jump in reservations. Boutique reformer studios accounted for roughly 27 percent of all new boutique fitness studio openings nationwide in 2024, per the same research. The broader global boutique gym studio market was valued at $37.15 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $59.91 billion by 2030, with mind-body modalities like Pilates, yoga and barre holding the largest share, according to a report distributed via GlobeNewswire.
That growth has translated into corporate accolades for the Fort Worth-based franchisor, which ranked #276 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies after posting 1,192 percent three-year revenue growth, and later placed #497 on Entrepreneur magazine's 2026 Franchise 500 list. Opening a Bodybar franchise carries a total initial investment estimated between $389,964 and $759,356, along with a $60,000 franchise fee and a minimum franchisee net worth requirement of $550,000, according to Entrepreneur's franchise directory. Franchisees also pay a 7 percent ongoing royalty and a 2 percent national advertising fee.
