Bowery, once gross, now bursts with boutique gyms

When Vanessa Packer opened her boutique fitness studio on the Bowery in 2014, the street was lined with industrial-furniture stores, hostels and tagged buildings. In other words, the Soho resident says, the area “needed polish.”But Packer, now 32, loved...

Bowery, once gross, now bursts with boutique gyms

When Vanessa Packer opened her boutique fitness studio on the Bowery in 2014, the street was lined with industrial-furniture stores, hostels and tagged buildings. In other words, the Soho resident says, the area “needed polish.”

But Packer, now 32, loved its location, especially since her boutique-gym-loving neighbors were running uptown or to Brooklyn to work out.

“It’s the perfect section of Manhattan,” she says, “because you get access to the Lower East Side, Noho and Chinatown.”

Today, her windowed, white-walled ModelFit studio at 212 Bowery attracts pretty downtown scenesters and celebs such as Taylor Swift, Martha Hunt and Karlie Kloss, who work up a sweat at the gym’s aerobic classes. Each $32 session combines light weights, barre and yoga moves for a low-impact workout.

Nor is ModelFit alone: A slew of sleek boutique gyms have since popped up on the Bowery, all catering to high-end clientele. Here are half a dozen.

262 Bowery, NewYorkPilates.com

The fitness chain opened its Bowery outpost in November, with two studios that can accommodate 12 people each. Even during hourlong group classes, instructors manage clients on their form and balance, focusing on improved flexibility. $39 per class.

270 Bowery, PopPhysique.com

Ballet dancer Jennifer Williams developed this boutique fitness class, whose combo of ballet and barre has attracted celebrities such as Mindy Kaling and Diane Kruger. At its Bowery location, which opened in January, fitness fans come for the sweat session, but stay to Instagram the studio’s banana-emoji wallpaper. $32 per class.

51 Astor Place, OrangeTheoryFitness.com

This boutique gym has a larger workout space than Orangetheory’s Chelsea location, but its signature workout remains the same: a combination of weights and high-intensity interval training, the better to keep you burning calories after the session’s over. $32 per class.

9 Bleecker St., OverthrowNYC.com

Overthrow opened in 2014, ahead of the boxing-fitness boom. The two-story gym once housed a Yippie cafe, and Overthrow retains its grungy rebel spirit. Writer Glenn O’Brien and model Hailey Clauson have been known to throw punches here, under the blood-red lights; $34 per class.

274 Bowery, WOOMCenter.com

Although most yogis rely on simple breathing techniques to help students focus, this new boutique studio blindfolds clients at the beginning of class, then plays gongs to grab their attention. Once the blindfolds come off, students can watch a stream of inanimate objects projected on the studio walls to help them transition between poses and find their zen. $20 per class.

28 E. Fourth St., MileHighRunClub.com

Longtime downtown denizen Debora Warner opened this studio in November 2014 because she couldn’t find a track that motivated her: “It’s challenging running downtown, because it’s either you have to go to the east or west side, and the terrain in flat.” So she set up a studio full of treadmills and nightclub-style lighting, and hired trainers who focus on high-intensity interval runs on a variety of inclines. $32 per class.

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