Livonia — Calling it a “historic day,” Livonia celebrated the opening of its new 30,000-square-foot senior wellness center on Thursday, a facility that includes artisan workshops, a commons area and a cafe.
The facility at 32001 Five Mile Road officially opens for daily operations on Monday. It has a two-story lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows, chairs and tables where seniors can meet up with each other.
The wellness center “represents not just bricks and mortar, but heart and purpose,” said Mayor Maureen Brosnan at a ribbon-cutting ceremony with more than 100 people. “It is the collective dream of a community that believes deeply in those who came before us.”
Construction started in June 2024 on the $29 million center, which is separate from but connected to Livonia’s Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center, which was also updated. Having the two facilities connected gives older adults easy access to both facilities, officials said.
The current Civic Park Senior Center will close on Friday.
The new center opens as Livonia is expected to see its 65 and older population grow by 14.6% by 2030, according to projections from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. About one-fifth, or 21.8%, of the city’s population, was 65 years or older in 2023. That’s roughly 20,500 residents.
Brosnan told the crowd that when the city set out to create its senior wellness center, it started by listening to seniors and asking them what they wanted to see in the space. She said seniors said they wanted a “warm and inviting space.”
“They wanted to feel cozy from the moment that they walked through that front door,” she said, “so there is a bright, two-story lobby filled with natural light and a cozy fireplace with comfortable seating, where people can spontaneously gather with their friends.”
Brosnan said seniors also said they wanted more flexible space. In the old center, they had “a lot limitations” around what they could and couldn’t do, she said. Rooms in the new center were designed to have more than one purpose.
“Seniors said that they wanted a place where we could foster creativity, where they could let their creative juices really fly,” she said.
The new center has two artisan workshops, an increase over the previous center, which just had one. Karl Peters, director of the senior wellness center, said the downstairs workshop will be home to painting, stained glass and woodworking. Needlepoint, quilting and sewing will take place in the upstairs workshop.
The facility also has a movement studio, which will be used for exercise classes, and a large room called the “commons,” where the center’s lunch program and parties will take place. The center has monthly parties, including for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
The center also has a cafe run by Anastasia and Katie’s Coffee Shop and Cafe. The workers will provide coffee, sandwiches and snacks throughout the day, Peters said. It will be open to both senior center and rec center users.
The facility was funded by $20.75 million in county, state and federal grants, with the remainder coming from the city’s American Rescue Plan funds and building improvement funds.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said the seniors who use the building are “the people who built Wayne County in the first place.”
“The Wayne County that I remember is the Wayne County that the people in this building have supported with their tax dollars, have supported at the polls, have supported with their service in prior conflicts,” he said.
The Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center is also being renovated. That work started in August 2025 and is expected to be completed in early 2026.
City officials have said that building the new senior center is a “decisive” first step in implementing the city’s new master plan. The Livonia Vision 21 master plan calls for redeveloping the Livonia City Center as a mixed-use and civic center for the community, making it a “functional downtown” for Livonia residents.
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