Movement, indeed.

The national chain Movement Gyms is making moves to expand the climbing community in Philadelphia with a new gym in Kensington. The new location will be the chain’s second in Philly.

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With its groundbreaking last week, Movement Kensington is aiming to open in late 2025. The gym will be located at 1700 N. American Street.

Similar to the 29 existing Movement locations, Movement Kensington will feature walls for bouldering and roped climbing, along with a yoga studio and areas for cardio and weights. The space will be 41,109 square feet large, with about 29,000 square feet solely dedicated to climbing.

“We look at the climbing space in Philadelphia, and there’s not a lot of climbing opportunities in the core of Philly,” said Sharon Cooper, the senior director of marketing at Movement Gyms. “We don’t have tall climbing walls and rope climbing options, so we want to provide that experience.”

Back in November, Movement Gyms acquired The Cliffs, which included The Cliffs at Callowhill, now simply called Movement Callowhill. By comparison, Movement Callowhill is nearly 38,000 square feet large with about 20,000 square feet for climbing.

Movement Kensington will be a stone’s throw away from Tufa’s Boulder Lounge, which offers bouldering walls and a fitness area, but not the same top rope climbing options that Movement provides. “In our industry, we often see gyms existing within the same neighborhood to help one another grow and build the community together,” a statement from Movement Gyms read. 

“Movement offers differing and complementary services and experiences for climbers. We looked at the neighborhoods and saw that there is a growing community of climbers, and we are looking forward to being a part of the growing community,” the statement continued.

Movement Callowhill has also served as a space for community meetups, including climbing nights for queer and BIPOC climbers. “We’re looking to expand our relationships with those groups and provide more opportunities for them,” said Donald Schmit, the gym director at Callowhill. “We want to create a space for people to make connections,” Cooper added.

Another movement within the chain’s workforce has been unionization efforts. Employees Movement Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia formed what is reportedly the first union for a climbing gym in 2021. 

The Callowhill location formed The Cliffs Climbing United in October, shortly before Movement acquired The Cliffs. The union was certified by the National Labor Relations Board earlier this month.

“At Movement, we respect the right of employees to organize as they see fit,” said a statement from Movement Gyms. “Through direct and transparent communication, which has successfully addressed needs in the past, we can continue empowering our team members and supporting their professional growth.

“We provide strong benefits, compensation, and opportunities for development and advancement,” the statement continues. “Team members across our organization are best served by the guidelines and ideals we have established with considerable success.”