Despite closure, Climb Nittany community remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ about future
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Climb Nittany’s last day open was Sunday, and is expected to remain closed through June
- Fundraising efforts of up to $1.9 million may save the gym.
- Behind-the-scenes work is being done for the purchase of the gym and its real estate.
Centre County’s only rock climbing gym closed its doors on Sunday, but those who banded together to get $1.9 million in funding commitments are hopeful that it’s just temporary.
Climb Nittany announced early last month that it would close May 31 due to unsustainable occupancy costs. The CEO of 5 Life Climbing, which owned and operated the gym since 2020, said the landlord, Store Master Funding XIV LLC, received an offer from another business to purchase the property for $1.9 million.
Soon after the closure announcement, the gym’s tight-knit community came together with a goal of raising enough in just three weeks to match the offer and save their cherished third space, in what was called a “Hail Mary” effort by some.
Climber and fundraising leader Eric Chase, whose son Dexter is also a devout climber, told the Centre Daily Times Monday that the effort was successful. The full $1.9 million in funding commitments has been secured for the potential purchase of both the gym’s real estate and business, he said.
While there’s still a lot to sort out, Chase remains hopeful that Climb Nittany will reopen in the near future.
“From our perspective, we think the community has basically come together to the point where 5 Life and the [landlord] will accept our offer ahead of any other offers that they may have received or will receive,” Chase said. “I will also say though that nothing is certain yet, and that while we’re making progress, to take it with a grain of salt. We’re being cautiously optimistic.”
The business team for the fundraising efforts is “working diligently” on both the real estate and business transition efforts and business entity formation for the potential building, he said. Letters of intent related to the real estate and business purchases are being finalized.
Chase expects Climb Nittany to remain closed through June, and while it’s too early to determine a timeline for reopening, if all goes smoothly, the gym and its land could have an entirely new ownership structure.
“The idea is that land and building will be owned by a single investor, and that the business itself — or all of the interior of the building, including the operations — will be done by group of community members, who form a small business to operate the gym,” Chase said.
The single investor wished to remain anonymous, Chase said, and 5 Life Climbing would no longer be the gym’s owner.
“We are working with the current Climb Nittany staff to make this transition as seamless as possible too, and to also retain as much of that staff as we possibly can,” he said. “Another thing to note is that all the branding and everything will remain as ‘Climb Nittany.’ There will be no re-branding.”
Despite Climb Nittany’s June closure, and the uncertainty about the potential purchases, Chase also noted that the situation they’re in today is “way better” than seeing the gym be closed permanently and turned into something else.
“We’d rather see the gym close for a month and re-open than be closed permanently,” Chase said. “It’s a testament to how incredible this community is, to not only coming together to try and save the gym financially, but to also volunteer the skills that we’ve needed to help this business transition through a rough time.”
To keep up to date with future updates on Climb Nittany, visit the gym’s Facebook and Instagram pages and website. More information is also available on the “Save Climb Nittany” group’s Instagram and Facebook pages, along with its website, www.saveclimbnittany.com, where you can sign up for a monthly newsletter and find volunteer opportunities within the group.