Morgan City businesses grow into new homes

Anytime Fitness and Advance Physical Therapy are slated to move from their locations already in Morgan City to behind Morgan City Junior High School at the corner of Marguerite and Elm streets.
Sidney Roy of Sidney Roy Contracting said site work began Friday on the 8,000 square-foot facility. The building will house two tenants, Anytime Fitness and Advance Physical Therapy. The project is scheduled to be complete by mid to late June, Roy said.
Sadie Galiano, owner of Anytime Fitness in Morgan City, said the fitness facility will move from its current location, which is next to Rouse’s Supermarket. “We’ve been looking to expand our location,” Galiano said. “We’re currently in 3,000 square-feet. We’re going to be 5,000 square-feet, which will add a lot of new features.” The expanded new location will allow the facility to increase its client base without overcrowding the facility, Galiano said.
Galiano hopes to move into the new facility as soon as construction allows, possibly within two and half to three months, she said.
With the new development in that area of Morgan City, which includes the Walmart Neighborhood Market, Anytime Fitness “wanted to be in the thick of it,” Galiano said.
Chet Sternfels, co-owner of Advance Physical Therapy, said the private practice outpatient physical therapy clinic is moving from its current location, which is on Ninth Street in Morgan City. Advance Physical Therapy has been in Morgan City since 2009, he said.
The clinic’s biggest reason for moving is to have more space and to provide more services, Sternfels said. “It’s going to allow us to do more wellness and individualized training, and it’s also going to allow us to expand into the occupational medicine part of our business.” Advance Physical Therapy plans to move to the new site as soon as construction is complete, he said.
Leroy Thompson, on-site superintendent for Journeyman Construction in Austin, Texas, which is constructing the new 41,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market on La. 70 in Morgan City, said the store is slated to open in mid-July. Thompson originally said the Walmart was supposed to open Jan. 1, but workers have to redo the floors in the building, he said.
Construction began on the Walmart in July 2014. At the time, Morgan City Planning and Zoning Director Anthony Governale described the Walmart Neighborhood Market “as mainly just a scaled down Walmart.” The store will have a grocery including a pharmacy with a drive-thru.

This story is by Zachary Fitzgerald of the Daily Review staff. Reach him by emailing zfitzgerald@daily-review.com