Altea Active has signed a long-term lease with RioCan for 51,000 SF at 1860 Bayview Ave. in Leaside, taking over the former Whole Foods space for a new premium fitness and wellness club.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with the club scheduled to open in late 2027. It will be Altea’s fourth Toronto-area location and its second project with RioCan.

The deal fills one of two Toronto boxes vacated by Whole Foods in August 2025. The grocer closed its Leaside store and another location at Hullmark Centre, 4771 Yonge St., at Yonge and Sheppard.

Both spaces have now been replaced. A new No Frills is set to open Sept. 17 in the former Yonge-Sheppard Whole Foods, while the Leaside space will shift from grocery to fitness and wellness.

Whole Foods had occupied the Bayview location for about eight years. RioCan’s filings previously listed the property at roughly 74,000 SF.

Altea’s planned club will include seven boutique studios, Reformer Pilates, boxing, cycling, hot yoga and HYROX training, along with cold plunges, saunas, steam cabins and a recovery lounge.

The lease gives RioCan a new anchor for a sizeable former grocery box and continues a shift toward fitness, wellness and experiential uses as landlords look for alternatives to traditional large-format retail tenants.

Altea currently operates clubs in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver, with two additional locations planned in West Edmonton and at Oakridge Park in Vancouver.