Joe Cabrera, left, and Retro Fitness CEO Andrew Alfano served together on the board of a nonprofit before agreeing to partner on Retro’s Project Lift initiative to open gyms in or near Black and brown communities.
Jim Cabrera, the founder and managing partner of Eagle Ventures, owned one of the largest commercial real estate development firms in Connecticut that managed 10 million square feet of mixed-use projects valued at more than $4.5 billion.
His older brother, Joe Cabrera, is managing partner and vice chair at CBRE, one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the world. Over the course of his 30-plus-year career, he’s completed more than 4,000 transactions, totaling 50 million square feet of commercial space in 250 cities globally.
Even with individual successes, the brothers from Greenwich, Connecticut, regretted not being able to pool their business talents and create a family-owned company. Their goal was to work together on a mission-driven endeavor.
That opportunity came when the Cabreras partnered with Retro Fitness for its Project Lift initiative, which aims to open 500 gyms in 50 Black and brown communities within the next five years.
With a multi-unit deal in hand, Jim and Joe Cabrera plan to develop a dozen Retro Fitness gyms in Westchester County and the Bronx, New York, with their first locations opening by the end of the year. As part of a separate deal with Retro Fitness, they’ll also develop additional gyms in Connecticut.
Jim Cabrera said they’re excited to join Retro Fitness for many reasons, “but most importantly because we decided we wanted to do something together that would make a positive impact in the community. Partnering with Retro and joining the Project Lift initiative allows us to do all that at the same time.”
Because of his position on the CBRE board, Joe Cabrera was not permitted to talk about his outside investments.
Jim Cabrera
Launched by Retro Fitness CEO Andrew Alfano and supported financially by the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund, the Project Lift initiative waives the franchise fee for those who agree to open in or around Black and brown communities. It also takes 50 percent off first-year royalties.
The company also donates a percentage of royalties back to these communities, and participating clubs offer free Friday classes to educate the underserved population on making healthy choices. Alfano said Project Lift will provide people of color with employment opportunities, along with access to exercise and health education.
James Collins, the managing partner of Eastwood Capital Partners, was the first franchisee to join the Project Lift initiative in 2022 when he signed a deal to open a minimum of 80 gyms in Dallas, Houston, Southeast Florida and Long Island, New York.
Retro Fitness is not the Cabreras’ first foray into franchising. From 2012 to 2015 they were part of an investment group that bought 14 Dunkin’ stores in the Washington, D.C., market. They ended up building another 21 locations and seeing their $10 million investment more than triple profits in four years, said Cabrera. They ended up selling their 35 stores to a strategic buyer.
“Dunkin’ is an amazing brand, with great coffee margins, but the timing was right for us to get out when we did from strictly a monetary standpoint,” said Cabrera, a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur who’s invested in a number of independent restaurants over the years.
Cabrera said he’s particularly excited to get back into franchising with a growing health-focused brand that has more than 90 locations open.
Alfano joined Retro Fitness in 2019 and came up with the idea for Project Lift because “I told them when I started here, I wanted to lead a brand with a purpose.” He said attracting the Cabreras was a big get for the company.
“It really was by accident that it all came about. I sat on a United Way board with Joe at one time and I reached out to him to see if CBRE can help us locate real estate locations for Project Lift,” Alfano said. “The more I told him about our plans with Project Lift, the more he and his brother Jim got excited about it. It wasn’t very long before they expressed interest in getting more involved as investors and franchise owners with what we were trying to do for improving the health of underserved communities.”
Said Jim Cabrera: “My brother and I were raised to give back to the community and Project Lift seems like a great way to do exactly that.