A few years ago, the old Colonial Electric warehouse on Henderson Road in King of Prussia was a crumbling monument to decay, home to stray cats and spare parts. Few might have guessed it would today hold a world-class squash facility, helmed by the winningest player in U.S. women’s squash history.

“It was a pretty raw space; it took a lot of vision to see it,” admits Demer Holleran, who opened Fairmount Athletic Club last year.

But if anyone could see it, it was Holleran: The Radnor resident has won more than 30 national and world titles, served as coach of the U.S. women’s squash team, and coached the University of Pennsylvania women’s team to its first-ever national championship.

Holleran’s vision encompassed more than just transforming this old warehouse into a squash club. She sees herself as an advocate for a sport saddled with an elitist reputation. “Almost all of the squash in Philadelphia has been in the country clubs until now,” she says, “so starting this club brings it to the masses.”

For Holleran, squash has been a lifelong passion. She grew up in Gladwyne watching her parents on the court and scrambling for her own chance to play. She was the oldest of four squash-playing sisters, and the most successful at the sport, snapping up junior titles and later captaining her team at Princeton, before taking the international squash circuit by storm.

Her years on the court not only built her reputation as a dominant squash player, but also honed skills that would prove valuable in the next phase of her career. Squash, she says, “is similar to business: Are you going to fight for it, or are you going to lay down and die?”
And so, halfway through her coaching stint at Penn, when she began to contemplate the idea of launching her own squash club, she was ready to fight. A business partner dropped out and potential properties fell through; the concept took six years to realize. In the end it was fellow squash players who stepped in with the funds.

Today, Fairmount is an airy, 14-court club complete with a fitness center, cardio and strength training machines, spinning, yoga and Pilates classes, and even martial arts. But most members come for the squash; and a growing number of competitive players train here.

The club received a hit of publicity this spring, when it hosted two major national squash events: the doubles championships and the juniors’ Gold Nationals. For Holleran, it was a coup. “I’ve had juniors come up to me and say, ‘I’m so thrilled that junior nationals is at your club—in my whole lifetime it’s never been in Philadelphia,’” Holleran says. “And that’s important for Philadelphia squash, that there is a center that can support our best players.”

Fairmount Athletic Club: 499 S. Henderson Rd., King of Prussia; 610-992-1004; fairmountac.com