A 24-hour, co-ed fitness franchise signed a long-term lease recently for space in a shopping center off New Centre Drive and South College Road, brokers announced this week.

Anytime Fitness plans to open a gym in 7,300 square feet of space in University Centre, said Garry Silivanch, partner and broker in charge of Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate Inc.

"Although this is their first site, it is only the first of many planned for the Wilmington market," Silivanch said in an announcement Tuesday. The Anytime Fitness location will be inside a building near one of the shopping center's anchor tenants, Lowe's Home Improvement.

Garry Silivanch and Nicholas Silivanch, partner and vice president of retail for ECCRE, represented University Center in the transaction and have an agreement with the franchise owner to identify more potential sites in the area, the announcement said.

Anytime Fitness has more than 2,100 gyms throughout the U.S. and Canada, and 731 in other parts of the world, according to the company's website. At least nine Anytime Fitness locations are in North Carolina, the site says.