Heritage Hills Golf Resort & Conference Center took over HardKohr Sports & Fitness in York Township Tuesday morning, a day after a bankruptcy judge ruled the fitness center's lease with Heritage was terminated.

Heritage owner Matt DeRose said his staff "took occupancy" Tuesday at the start of business, then hired about 15 HardKohr employees. Some employees decided to leave, but about 15 people stayed on and will help provide continuity in the center's operations, he said.

Heritage will continue to operate the center as a fitness club, but a name has not been established. Heritage also has an option to buy all of the club's assets, such as gym equipment, DeRose said.

The Middle District bankruptcy ruling Monday ends four years of litigation between Heritage and HardKohr owner Jim Kohr. Kohr had been fighting to purchase the building at 2810 East Prospect Road from Heritage, but Judge Mary France ruled that Kohr so deeply defaulted on his lease payments that the lease is terminated, according to court documents.

DeRose said all of HardKohr's memberships are being honored and the "goal is to honor the existing agreements the gym had as far as memberships go, with no interruption in service," but he's not sure how many members the club had.

The change also resulted in cancellation of HardKohr's summer camp, but almost all of the children enrolled in that program have since been transferred to Heritage's "Kidz Camp," DeRose said.

Kohr did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday morning.

-- Reach Christina Kauffman at ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com.