A massive luxury gym and wellness center is opening in LoSo
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All photos show Carbon's Atlanta location, which the company says closely reflects what the Charlotte gym will look like once construction is complete. Photos: Courtesy of Carbon Performance Center
Carbon Performance is a 45,000-square-foot luxury fitness and recovery center opening in Lower South End later this summer.
Why it matters: The Tennessee-born fitness company's expansion to Charlotte reflects the city's growing appetite for high-end wellness spaces that combine strength training, recovery and lifestyle amenities under one roof.
- Carbon Charlotte will be one of the area's largest gyms, roughly the size of the Dowd YMCA, with amenities similar to other upscale fitness-meet-wellness clubs, like Motion Fitness, The Health Club and Life Time.
Catch up quick: Carbon launched in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2020 before expanding to Nashville and, most recently, Atlanta. Charlotte will be its largest location yet.
What to expect: Carbon's bread and butter is its equipment lineup, director of marketing Austin Beck tells Axios, adding that he hopes the gym appeals to fitness enthusiasts while reducing wait times for machines.
- Charlotte's facility will have more than 175 strength machines, over 40 cardio machines and 20-plus cable stations, including sought-after equipment like a pendulum squat machine and commercial-grade brands such as Arsenal, Atlantis and Hammer Strength.
Between the lines: Carbon Charlotte is still under construction with no equipment installed yet. Photos in this story are from the company's slightly smaller Atlanta location, which Carbon says closely reflects the Charlotte gym's design and amenities.
The facility will also include:
- A 2,000-square-foot women's-only training area and a reformer Pilates studio.
- Personal training and specialty HYROX classes.
- A posing room with mirrors where people can snap progress pics.
- A nutrition bar offering protein shakes, snacks and meal prep.
The big picture: Carbon's emphasis on recovery, aesthetics and wellness treatments reflects how gyms are increasingly positioning themselves as all-in-one lifestyle destinations, not just places to work out.
- The gym will also offer luxe recovery amenities, which speaks to a larger shift toward gyms functioning as social wellness and longevity hubs, a trend that wellness publication Fitt Insider calls "The Everything Gym."
The members-only "Carbon Elite Lounge" will combine co-working space with a recovery lounge featuring private cold plunges, saunas and showers, plus compression boots, Theraguns, hydromassage and Cryolounge recovery chairs.
- Charlotte's location will also be the first Carbon facility with a group cold plunge designed for eight-10 people, says Beck.
What we're watching: The company is also exploring the addition of a barbershop and an in-house wellness clinic, offering services like hormone therapy, peptides and blood work. Those plans are still being finalized because of licensing requirements.
How it works: Memberships come in four tiers with varying levels of access. The entry-level "Performance" membership includes gym access, group training and locker room sauna access.
- Higher tiers add perks like private recovery amenities, specialty training classes and reformer Pilates access.
- Memberships currently range from $54.99 to $134.99 bi-weekly during presale, or roughly $110 to $270 per month.
What's next: Construction is still underway at the facility, which Beck says is targeting a mid-summer opening at 3325 S. Tryon St., across from State of Confusion.
- Carbon Charlotte also plans to host pop-up classes ahead of its launch.