A South Windsor gym is packing up and heading to Vernon, where it plans to open in a much larger space complete with a dedicated recovery center and athlete training powered by a national speed-training brand. Synergy Fit, soon to be rebranded Synergy Performance Center, is coming to 295 Hartford Turnpike in Vernon, taking over the former Salvation Army space near Ocean State Job Lot.
The move was detailed by The Connecticut Scoop, which reports the gym will relocate from its current home at 869 Sullivan Avenue in South Windsor into the much larger Vernon storefront. Renovation work is expected to get underway soon to transform the space, according to the same report.
What's Moving Into the Former Thrift Store
The Vernon address has retail history of its own. The Salvation Army opened a Family Thrift Store there in the Kmart Plaza, a location that encompassed 14,500 square feet of shopping space, per The Salvation Army of Southern New England. It is not established whether Synergy Performance Center's future footprint will match that figure, but the gym is swapping its current South Windsor space for what the Scoop's report describes simply as a much larger one.
Once renovated, the facility is set to offer adult fitness classes alongside performance training for athletes of all ages, the outlet's report notes. That training will be powered by Parisi Speed School, a program with an established presence elsewhere in the state.
Recovery Center and Parisi Speed School Training
Beyond the workout floor, Synergy Performance Center plans a recovery center that will include sauna booths, red light therapy, and massage therapy, among other offerings, the same report states. Connecticut law, under Chapter 384a of the state statutes, restricts the practice of massage therapy to licensed persons, though it remains unclear whether the planned recovery center's massage services would be provided by licensed therapists or how the law's requirements would apply.
Parisi Speed School already has a foothold in the state through its Bristol location, which has served Connecticut's athletic community since 2006 with team camps and private and semi-private performance training, according to Parisi Speed School. That Bristol facility, an 8,000-square-foot space the company says was built specifically for athletes, reports its training has contributed to the development of hundreds of college and professional athletes over the years.
Part of a Broader Recovery and Wellness Push
Synergy's recovery-focused amenities fit a pattern showing up elsewhere in Connecticut's fitness scene. Earlier this year, The Edge Fitness Clubs in Manchester opened the chain's second infrared yoga and Pilates studio in the state at its Pavilions Drive location, according to the Hartford Courant. That studio launched with a soft opening followed by a grand-opening ribbon cutting, and offers six class formats built around two yoga variations and four Pilates-based classes, the paper reported.
No opening date has been set for Synergy Performance Center, but the business is aiming for a mid-2027 grand opening, according to the Scoop's reporting. Vernon residents watching the Hartford Turnpike corridor now have a timeline, even if a firm date for walking through the new doors is still a ways off.
