Equinox to Flex Its Muscle in Lower East Side Luxury Development

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What do the tenants of the Lower East Side's latest luxury development really need? A luxury gym, of course. The New York Post is reporting that Equinox has signed 30,000-square foot lease at 196 Orchard Street, occupying the second and third floors of a ten-story building that's rising on what was formerly a row of eateries that lined East Houston Street (thankfully, Katz's Deli is still there).

Equinox isn't the first big fitness chain to venture this far east into the neighborhood—Crunch is on the Bowery and New York Sports Club is on Avenue A, for example—but it's certainly the most expensive. Will sister sweat spots Blink and Soulcycle follow, too?