diamond days

Former Houston City Club gets massive makeover in Greenway Plaza, including rooftop resort

A beloved and venerable Houston gym in Greenway Plaza is getting a major facelift, courtesy of a major national player. The former Houston City Club will now be known as Life Time Greenway Diamond Signature Club, following a massive, $34 million renovation and expansion.

The new athletic resort, the tenth in Houston, will open Monday, October 28 at 4 am.

Life Time purchased the Greenway Plaza space in 2017 and began work in 2018 on the transformation, which includes a rooftop pool deck—a first in the Houston market—on top of the existing parking structure with a LifeCafe and bar inside.

In total, the new space covers 150,000 square feet. For serious athletic types, a new “LT Recovery zone” will occupy 3,000 square feet complete with a dedicated space for athletic performance featuring metabolic assessments, nutrition coaching, sports and athletic treatments, and chiropractic and physical therapy care, according to a release.

Highlights provided to CultureMap of the more than $34 million Diamond Signature Club include:

A 54,000-square-foot “outdoor oasis.”
Dedicated studios for exclusive group fitness, cycle, yoga and Pilates programming; one-on-one personal training and small group Barre Fusion Training.
More than 300 pieces of cardiovascular and resistance training equipment.
Two full-size basketball courts with Ultimate Hoops leagues and skills training.
An outdoor aquatic center featuring leisure and lap pools and resort-style seating.
A dedicated Kids Academy, for kids ages three months to 11 years old.
A dedicated work space featuring desks, tables and areas for those who want to work before or after their workouts.
LifeCafe, a nutrition-focused, fast-casual restaurant featuring a full menu, Meals to Go and grab-and-go assortments, proprietary nutritional supplements, and more.
Run Club, which offers training programs for help personal running goals.
LifeSpa, a full-service salon and spa for hair, body, and nails.
Dressing rooms with whirlpools, saunas, and a steam room.

Will the rooftop deck see the busy Greenway Plaza office crowd sunning themselves during their lunch break? Time will tell, but the new gym is sure to be a hit in the 'hood.

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Life Time Greenway Signature Diamond Club, 1 City Club Dr. For information, call 281-916-7300 or get details online.

The rooftop lap pool.

Photo courtesy of Life Time

The rooftop lap pool.

fitness

flight cancelled

Historic Houston air terminal museum closes due to budget shortfall

Photo courtesy of 1940 Air Terminal Museum

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A beloved Houston museum has closed its doors — at least for now. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum announced this morning (Monday, March 2) that it has ceased operations.

Located next to Hobby Airport, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum showcases Houston’s aviation history. Designed by local architect Joseph Finger, the museum’s Art Deco building is a protected landmark that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum president and director Karen Nicolaou tells CultureMap that the problem is simple. The museum’s revenues don’t match its expenses. Previously, the museum raised $100,000 or more per year from raffles on Facebook, but that stream dried up.

It generates some money from admissions and more from hosting private events, but it hasn’t been enough. Being far away from the Museum District means it doesn’t get the cross traffic that its more centrally-located peer institutions do.

Still, the museum occupies a unique space in Houston. “It’s one of the coolest places for kids to see airplanes,” Nicolaou says. “There’s no other place where someone can walk onto the ramp and take a picture of plane taking off with nothing in the way.”

While the museum is closed for now, Nicolaou says its board has been in contact with the Texas Historical Commission about taking over operations. One issue is that the commission would want to take ownership of the building from Houston Airports, according to Nicolaou.

“That’s going to take coordination between the city, the airport system, and the Texas State Senate. There’s a lot of politics involved,” Nicolaou says.

Of course, she has a simple proposal for Houston Mayor John Whitmire that would move the process along.

“Mr. Mayor, sell the historical commission the building for a dollar and be done with it,” she says with a laugh.

Whether it’s operated by the City of Houston, the Texas Historical Commission, a university, or some other entity, Nicolaou hopes the public will be able to visit the museum again soon and for many years to come.

“We want a permanent solution. We’ve tried for one for years,” she says. “It belongs to the city. It belongs to the residents of the city of Houston. They should have it to go to for years.”

CultureMap has contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office for comment about the museum’s future and will update this article when we receive a reply.

museums transportation 1940 air terminal museum