GULF SHORES, Ala. – Poles are going in the ground and tower roofs are going up on the south shore of Lake Shelby in Gulf State Park.

The Hummingbird zip line course is zipping along. Friday morning at 11 a.m. officials will have a groundbreaking of sorts. Construction has proceeded so quickly it is already past the groundbreaking stage.

“It kinda of happened pretty quickly,” Park Superintendent Lisa Laraway said. “I just pulled up a little while ago and I didn’t realize how many towers they had in the ground that quick. It just took a couple of days and they got all that stuff up.”

One tower had a bit of a setback to make sure no beach mouse habitat was endangered.

“The zoning is kind of randomly determined and tower four was 20 feet too close even though the coordinates said it wasn’t,” Laraway said.

“Fish and Wildlife said it was. They wound up coming over and we talked to them and we now have to move it 20 feet the other direction. So the pilings for tower four are not in there yet. We had to do some reengineering.”

The company installing the zip is called the Adventure Center at Gulf State Park and is owned Tom Schlinkert and his partner is JT Lemons. Crews experienced in zip line construction are handling the job.

“These guys are from North Carolina and they are specialists as you can see,” Schlinkert said on the site Wednesday. “This is one of the few accredited building companies for this kind of product in the country, Challenge Design. I got two teams that work 10 (days) on and 10 off and they are incredible.”

Lemon and Schlinkert are already involved in a company in Tennessee that features whitewater rafting and a zip line.

“JT owns Ocoee Outdoors in Ocoee, Tenn., which has a 35-year history as a rafting operation and we also have a zip line there as well,” Schlinkert said. “I own the LLC that has a concession with the state. We went to the state and proposed this, had a bid let, we won the bid. This is entirely funded privately. It’s not funded by any state money at all. In fact, we’re remodeling and redoing a whole bunch of state property as part of our efforts to make this what we want it to be.”

And what he wants it to be, and what it is becoming, is a new niche in the already burgeoning tourist market the beach attracts.

“What we’re most interested to do is to bring a new facet to tourism on this coast,” he said. “It’s been my personal belief we have overlooked an entire category of tourists. People who want an active experience and educational experience and we are giving it to them.”

Schlinkert says the families that already come here for vacation will have yet another outlet that offers a unique experience.

“We think there’s a whole family opportunity here,” he said. “This is very family-oriented, it’s very safe, it’s something you can bring your kids to do.”

Patrons will start at the old store location, which Schlinkert’s company is refurbishing.

“We’re going to redo the interior of it to be our reception center, have some retail sales,” he said. “The rest of the areas for picnicking and swimming will always be open to the public.”

Underneath the store is an area for a class on how to use the zip line complete with a practice zip that patrons must complete for taking on the real thing.

“From here there will be a swinging bridge from the building that will take you to the deck height up about 15 to 18 feet to a deck,” he said. “Then you’ll take two staircases that will give you the height to take it to this deck and you’ll go from there.

“This is not an amusement ride. It takes two and a half hours to do this and in that two and a half hours you’ll not only meet and be associated with your guides, but you’ll also get an education about the lake, the Gulf, the fauna, so when you leave here, you’ll take something with you. That’s a major goal for in seeing this happen. It is an educational experience.”

Schlinkert’s company will offer other adventure-type activities as well.

“Along with the zip line, we’ll be doing canoes, kayaks and paddle boards, bicycles and anything that is oriented toward adventure in our part of the world,” he said.

To make that experience happen, Schlinkert is looking to hire guides who will be trained in January for an opening he is planning for Mardi Gras weekend. Fat Tuesday is Feb. 12.

Anyone interested in working with The Adventure center should visit the Facebook page The Adventure Center at Gulf State Park or the website at gulfadventurecenter.com.