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In October, the , a foundation lead by former professional baseball outfielder and manager, , with the goal of “providing inspiration, hope, and help to those living with Parkinson’s,” has recently announced plans for the construction of The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness, a first-of-its-kind center serving the Parkinson’s community, located in Farmington Hills.

With 30,000 square feet to work with, the center will provide a variety of programs and activities specifically chosen to help and benefit the Parkinson’s community. These programs range from physical activities such as boxing, active stretching, yoga, pilates, tai chi, and dance, to cognitive improvement exercises like speech therapy, music therapy, and art programs. The facility will also hold educational offerings such as fall safety, kitchen safety, and nutrition.

Everything offered at the center will be free for all members, but members must first undergo the registration process, , the CEO of the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s, explains.

“Registration is really important,” Annear says. “The reason is that people with Parkinson’s usually have a unique set of symptoms, and it can affect individuals very differently. What we do is we have classes that are set up according to the classification of mobility and ability of the individuals.”

During a press conference on Oct. 1, Kirk Gibson delved into his main vision for the facility:

“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,” he said. “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.”

The design team behind the wellness center is none other than the Detroit-based architects at , and Farmington Hills was chosen as the center’s location due to the area’s large Parkinson’s community.

“There’s something like 8,000 people with Parkinson’s disease within a 30-minute drive of this location, so it’s a great location from that point of view,” Annear said. “The center will be open to anybody that wants to come, no matter where they live. If they’re somewhere else in Michigan and they want to come down and spend a couple of days, it’s available to anybody that wants to walk through the door.”

In the past, such facilities in the United States have been detoured due to funding as the type of group classes offered are not funded by insurance.

“Throughout the US, the group classes such as these are not funded by insurance, so unless people privately step up and offer these kind of group classes, they just won’t happen,” Annear said. “The gap in care is enormous because there is no insurance, so we feel that, for the people in Michigan, we can step up and provide a facility like this that doesn’t really exist right now and provides that kind of programming.”

The Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness is expected to open in mid-2025 as the foundation continues to raise funds to expand the range of programs planned to be offered by the center.

For more information on the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s, visit their website at —��and be sure to check out hourdetroit.com for more on Kirk Gibson and .