Tysons Galleria hasn’t bid farewell to Saks Fifth Avenue yet, but a potential new occupant for the emptying space has already emerged.
The chain Onelife Fitness is proposing to convert the two-story department store into a full-service fitness facility with exercise areas, studios and other indoor recreational amenities, according to Wire Gill land use attorney Evan Pritchard.
First reported by the Washington Business Journal, Pritchard’s April 11 letter to Fairfax County Zoning Administrator Leslie Johnson asks whether a conversion of the Saks Fifth Avenue building at 2201 International Drive into a fitness facility could be approved through the county’s special exception process or if it would require an amendment to Tysons Galleria’s development plan.
“The proposed reuse does not alter the overall intensity of development and is consistent with the mixed-use character of the project,” Pritchard wrote.
Following its parent company’s bankruptcy filing in January, Saks Fifth Avenue’s Tysons Galleria store is slated to close at the end of May after serving as an anchor tenant since the mall opened in 1988. Closing sales began on March 13 and will continue over the next month at all 18 shuttering locations.
A spokesperson for Onelife Fitness said the company has no comment “at this time” on the possibility that it might convert the Saks Fifth Avenue space at Tysons Galleria.
Mall owner Brookfield Properties didn’t respond to an inquiry from FFXnow, but it has declined in the past to comment on tenant changes.
Given its proximity, Onelife Fitness might be circling Tysons Galleria as an option for relocating its existing Tysons gym near The Boro at 8250 Greensboro Drive. It also has a Signature Club at 1800 Old Meadow Road closer to the McLean Metro station.
That 85,300-square-foot building on Greensboro Drive has been targeted for redevelopment with residential high-rises that could deliver up to 652 new apartments, according to Paradigm Companies’ most recent development plan.
First submitted in February 2025, the rezoning application is being reviewed by county staff ahead of scheduled public hearings before the planning commission and Board of Supervisors on Sept. 9 and 22, respectively.
Meanwhile, Onelife Fitness is planning to expand to the Mosaic District in Merrifield, announcing last November that it will open a 53,000-square-foot health club in the former Custom Ink offices at 2910 District Avenue. Expected to open later this year, the facility will offer a variety of training areas, exercise equipment, studios for boxing, cycling and mat classes like yoga, and recovery therapy.
In addition to its existing Tysons locations, Onelife Fitness can be found in Reston, Falls Church near Seven Corners, Bailey’s Crossroads, Burke and the Fair Oaks area.
