Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s announces plans for the construction of The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness, the first of its kind facility serving the Parkinson’s community in Michigan.

The center, which will be located at 31440 Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills, will be a world-class facility where those impacted by Parkinson’s can access a range of activity-based programs — completely free of charge.

Gibson and his Foundation have been fundraising with the goal of opening a wellness center for those living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. As a result of a lead gift from Mrs. Marian Ilitch, the Foundation’s mission to provide direct activity-based programs to the Parkinson’s community in Michigan is now a reality, as he revealed during a press conference on Tuesday, from the new center’s location.

"Opening this Parkinson’s Center is more than just a building, it's a center of hope for everyone fighting this battle with Parkinson’s. Every step forward, every breakthrough we make together, reflects the strength we find in each other. This journey is personal, but it's also for all those who need to know they're not alone," Gibson said.

The Center will provide a series of free programs many of which were developed by InMotion, a Cleveland based leader in the provision of evidence-based programs tailored for people with Parkinson’s disease. Movement matters in the fight against Parkinson’s and through leveraging the InMotion ApproachTM, the Kirk Gibson Center will provide an integrated, holistic system of wellness programs designed to counteract the symptoms of the disease and to improve the quality of life of those people living with Parkinson’s disease here in Michigan.

Examples include:

• Programs that focus on strength, movement and balance such as boxing, active stretching, yoga, pilates, tai chi and dance will be offered both in-person and virtually to reach people around the world who are dealing with this degenerative neurological disease.

• Cognitive improvement exercises, speech therapy, music therapy, art programs and educational offerings such as fall safety, kitchen safety and nutrition.

• Addressing the needs of care partners and family members through a variety of support groups and classes.

Upon completion, the 30,000 sq.ft. facility will offer approximately 70 hours of weekly programming with initial capacity to provide 60,000 visitor hours per year and will ultimately serve as a model for collaborative coalitions in support of people living with Parkinson’s.

The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness is expected to open in mid-2025 and the Foundation will continue to raise funds to expand the range of free programs planned to be offered by the Center.

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