Construction has begun on a new LA Fitness health club at the site of the former Kmart store in Richfield. The discounter closed the store in 2008.

The California-based fitness club chain will open its first single-story prototype in Minnesota at the 66th Street and Lyndale Avenue site, according to Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq senior vice president Tom Martin.

The $6 million construction project is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2012. LA Fitness will offer members use of the recently purchased Bally Total Fitness Center on West 66th Street until the new facility is finished.

Spanning 45,000 square feet, this is the first single-story prototype in the state for LA Fitness. The chain entered the Twin Cities market in 2007, and the new Richfield site will be the firm's 13th club in Minnesota.

JANET MOORE