Tremble Pilates studio opening in Cornerstone to receive $100,000 city grant

A couple working to build out a new Tremble Pilates studio in Coral Springs’ Cornerstone development have been approved to receive a $100,000 grant.

The Community Redevelopment Agency voted March 23 to give the owners a commercial property enhancement grant after they’ve completed upgrades to the space on the street level of the north Modera apartment tower at the southwest corner of Sample Road and University Drive.

Rich Elliott used to live in Coral Springs and is now returning to the city with his wife to open a franchise of the Pilates studio they love. Both are business owners already and have experience flipping homes.

“I grew up in Coral Springs, so just to see what the city’s become is awesome,” Elliott said at the Monday night meeting.

Kaitlyn Collier, economic development officer, gave a presentation on the business and shared the staff’s recommendation that the board approve the grant. Then the Elliotts fielded questions from the board members on Tremble, their financing and the construction process.

Some CRA members questioned whether the project warranted a grant for that amount, especially for an interior buildout that would mostly benefit members, but Director of Economic Development Kristi Bartlett reminded the members they’ve already set the precedent.

Within the Cornerstone development, the board has approved $100,000 grants for Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen, Let’s Chill ice cream, Paris Baguette and Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Café, which opened this week.

“This helps with speed to market,” she said. “We have the funds to do these grants.”

The CRA spearheads development of the downtown area of Coral Springs within a certain boundary, which is centered around the intersection of Sample and University. The agency is funded by tax increment financing, or TIF, which is additional tax revenue created by higher property values as a result of the development.

Bartlett pointed out that Tremble will raise the taxable value of the property, which in turn raises the amount of TIF money the agency receives.

The couple described Tremble, which started in Miami, as a highly successful franchise. The brand has roughly 40 open studios, with more to come, centered around 50-minute, low-impact exercise classes on a Megaformer machine.

“That’s why every franchisee, even out of state, is opening another location,” Chloe Elliott said. “This generation is into health and wellness.”

The Elliotts are aiming to open in June, and they anticipate they’ll max out their membership capacity. Roughly 200 people have expressed interest, they said.

An added benefit of the workout studio is it will create foot traffic for all the businesses in the area, according to the owners.

“We can all play off of each other,” Chloe Elliott said, adding they plan to offer the other Cornerstone businesses the chance to be part of Tremble’s opening weekend. “We’re going to create value to the community.”

After discussion and questions for the Elliotts, as well as seeing the renderings, the board members voted to approve the grant.

But afterwards, some expressed they didn’t feel like they had enough information about the business and the balance sheet before they were supposed to discuss and vote on the grant.

For future grant applicants, city staff said they will share more information with the board in advance of the day they have to vote on the grant.

At the end of the day, board member Germain Bebe said, “What I really care is that does this fit into our vision for the city?”

The board ultimately decided yes.

This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 4:47 PM.