Construction begins this fall on new headquarters for PRx Performance

By Andrew Weeks

FARGO, N.D. • PRx Performance, a gym fitness manufacturer and distributor, will have a new place to call home next year.

The company is building a 195,000-square-foot building – “basically, it’ll be our new headquarters,” said Project Manager Mike Harlan. “A majority of that is actually going to be warehouse space, but a percentage will be office space as well as a manufacturing portion.

“We’re in the pre-construction phase right now and if we are able to keep things moving along, and keep the next project on course, we’re looking to probably start moving dirt in a couple of weeks,” Harlan said in an interview on Sept. 4. “Mid to late September, that’s kind of our goal.”

Harlan said the company has been thinking about moving into a new building for a while, and it had plans to begin that process over the next couple of years or so, but the coronavirus pandemic accelerated those plans.

“It goes hand-in-hand with a lot of the gym closures and limited hours,” he said, explaining that as more people exercise at home, the fitness equipment business has boomed. “Essentially, due to that increase in sales demand, the need for a new building came about much quicker than we originally planned,” he said. “We kind of found ourselves at projected numbers within three months versus three years.”

He said the $20 million project, located at 24th Avenue North in Fargo, will take about a year to complete and will be ready for use sometime in fall 2021.

Enclave, a fully-integrated development, construction and management company also headquartered in Fargo, has been contracted to do the work.

“We look forward to partnering with PRx to provide them with a new space that not only accommodates their organization’s continued growth but inspires team members to do their best work,” said Enclave’s Derek Hoeschen, vice president of construction.

Hoeschen said in a prepared statement that the project is being designed in collaboration with design and engineering firm, ISG. PRx Performance currently has around 50 employees, Harlan said, but with increased demand for equipment and a new building it continues to add to its employee count. The new building will include some additional features for the new times, including more hand-washing and hand-sanitizing stations.

“We are trying to be smart as far as guidelines go, and it’s tough because they always change as far as what those requirements are,” he said, noting that options will be in place to follow social distancing and other health guidelines as needed. “One thing is that we’re always planning for the future.”