On Monday, October 6, the Kirk Gibson Foundation (“KGF”) hosted the official grand opening ribbon cutting celebration for The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness (“the Center”), a first-of- its- kind in Michigan. Located at 31440 Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills, MI, the Center is a world-class facility providing a supportive community where those impacted with Parkinson’s can access a wide range of activity -based and educational programs, completely free of charge.
The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness began construction in March 2025 and was transformed from an office building for an automotive organization to the state’s only standalone wellness center focused on Parkinson’s. The 32,000-square-foot facility spans two levels, each offering distinct programs that focus on movement and cognitive therapy.
The Center also houses the headquarters for the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s, who moved their offices into the Center to further provide combined team support. The renovation was in partnership with the Detroit based team and the world’s most influential architecture, design and planning firm, Gensler. With the goal of creating a Center that provides physical, emotional, and social support for those living with Parkinson’s, Gensler designed the new facility’s thoughtful applications of color and patterns, as well as light levels, creating spaces that are accessible, navigable, and spacious throughout the Center.
The Center is strategically and intentionally located within a 30-minute driving radius from 70 percent of the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, providing access to an estimated 8,000 living with Parkinson’s in Metro Detroit. The Center anticipates as many as 70,000 visits annually and in its first month of full operations, will offer approximately 75 hours of weekly programming, providing much needed physical, emotional, and social support to those living with the disease and their caregivers.
Since initially announcing the Center was opening back in 2024, there has been remarkable interest from the Parkinson’s community, where the demand to join has already far exceeded early expectations. Nearly 900 individuals have already registered, with more than 300 members onboarded and over 200 now actively participating in classes. This extraordinary response has confirmed what Kirk Gibson envisioned: a place where members are not only accessing resources, but also building a culture and community of their own.
Guided by a “Movement Matters” concept, the barrier-free interior features a large gathering hall with an overhead 360-degree oval walk/run track; a gym for strength and cardio; a boxing therapy zone; various rooms dedicated to targeted exercises such as yoga, tai chi, Pilates, and dance; general fitness areas, as well as a full multi-purpose gym.
Across its spaces, the center offers formal and informal therapy programs, such as table tennis, ping pong, and foosball, as well as dedicated rooms for speech, music, and art therapies; classrooms for fall and kitchen safety, nutrition, and wellness; private counseling spaces; a community lounge; and supporting amenities (specialized changing rooms, offices, storage, kitchen, laundry). Programming is free and focuses on exercise, learning, and social connection. The main area of the Center features a custom graphic that spans the top of the space underscoring the Foundation’s mission with words of motivation: “Movement Matters”.
