An outdoor center for rafting and biking, complete with a kayaking school, expects to be totally operational by fall in Lehighton.

Progress continues to be made on the Lehighton Outdoor Center — Home of Jim Thorpe River Adventures and Northeast PA Kayak School.Owner Jerry McAward said that all the trusses are in, with roof metal likely appearing by the end of the week.“I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress everyone made so far,” McAward said.McAward said the over-11,000-square-foot facility at 123 Lehigh Drive just off Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard will have a small cafe, bike shop, kayak/paddling shop and of course everything around the kayak school and the rafting company activities.“So we’re really excited,” he said. “My staff is as excited as I am.”McAward said the center will provide a variety of adventure levels for adults, as well as kids and their families, such as biking, kayaking, a kayak school, and eventually cross-country ski rentals.“Human-powered, environmentally minded activities,” he said. “Raft, bike, kayak and hike.”The facility will employ about 120 people, and remain open year-round.McAward owns Jim Thorpe River Sports Inc., doing business as Jim Thorpe River Adventures, as well as the Northeast PA Kayak School Inc.The rafting company is in its 10th season under McAward, while the kayak school was started up in 1999.Once the Lehighton facility opens, McAward said they will vacate the Jim Thorpe site completely.He cited steady growth, and the fact that they’ve had to turn away a lot of people due to limited parking, as the primary reasons for the move.Conversely, McAward said the drive-by visibility and parking at the site in Lehighton were attractive.“I think that it will be an attractive new facility,” he said. “What drives me more is being part of the revitalization of the downtown of Lehighton. There are members of borough council, the borough Manager Nicole Beckett, lots of townspeople that are literally as excited as what it could do for the area.”