Look Inside the New Dexter Wellness Center

Dexter-area residents of all ages will soon have more opportunities to get in shape when the family-friendly Dexter Wellness Center opens this summer.

The 48,000 square foot facility is located at 2810 Baker Road in the village of Dexter and will be a full-service facility with a swimming pool, therapy pool, gym, and state-of-the-art strength and aerobic conditioning equipment.

The facility will also be staffed by trained fitness professionals, offering more than 40 classes each week, including Pilates and yoga, and massage therapy.

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF) will operate the center as one of two primary strategies as part of its Five Healthy Towns Initiative that promotes the importance of healthy living in its five member communities — Dexter, Chelsea, Manchester, Grass Lake and Stockbridge.

“Our goal is to get more people to move more,” Amy Heydlauff, executive director of the CWF said. “We hope to more than double the number of people exercising during the next three years (from 4,000 to 8,000)."

As a medically integrated facility, members will have the opportunity to take part in "Fit Transition Programs," that assist people transitioning from or managing a medical condition such as diabetes, weight management, orthopedic problems, and cancer.

Some of the additional services offered at the center will include personal training, nutrition counseling, and services for children including child care, according to Cindy Cope, the center's director.

Area residents interested in becoming members of the DWC will have an advance opportunity to do so when the center's pre-sale office opens in the spring.

According to Cope, the office will be open full-time to process member applications and provide virtual tours of the building. No date has been announced yet, however.

Individuals who want to join the center will be asked to take a fitness assessment and complete a health history questionnaire when they sign up.

Steve Brouwer, president of A.R. Brouwer Co. said construction of the new facility is moving along on schedule, which he credits to hiring local reliable contractors.

“The vast majority (of our contractors) are local,” Brouwer said. "We are moving along pretty fast."

Visit www.dexterwellness.org for more information about the DWC and to learn about employment opportunities at the center.