A growing recreation trend is coming to metro Birmingham, with plans for an extreme trampoline park off U.S. 280.

AirWalk Trampoline Arena will be a 16,000-square-foot facility with 10,000 square feet of trampolines, including a large open trampoline field, a trampoline dodgeball stadium and Olympic foam pits with more than 25,000 cubes of foam.

The project's developer, Case Lawrence, opened his first park,

, in Fresno, Calif., in 2011. He followed it with

in Durham, N.C., earlier this year, while GravityPark will open in Albuquerque, N.M., in November.

The parks feature steel-framed trampolines that are pre-fabricated and installed into the buildings, creating a floor of trampolines, he said.

Lawrence, a lawyer and real estate developer based in California and Utah, said AirWalk will be the first of its kind in Alabama. He plans to follow up the Birmingham park with similar projects in Richmond, Va., and Louisville, Ky.

"Birmingham is actually one of the last remaining markets with a (Metropolitan Statistical Area) over 1 million that does not have one," he said. "We think it's going to be a great market."

Trampoline parks are especially popular with teens and young adults, but they draw people of all ages, Lawrence said.

"It's something for the whole family, from 4 to 50 and even older," he said.

Customers pay by the hour for jumping time, with pricing from $6 to $11 per hour. AirWalk will host birthday parties, dodgeball tournaments and trampoline "airobics" classes.

There's also Club AirWalk, special weekend club nights with laser lighting and a deejay.

AirWalk is leasing the building formerly occupied by Sports Center 280, at 7010 Champion Boulevard in the Greystone area of unincorporated Shelby County. The development represents a $1 million investment.

It is expected to open by New Year's Day.

Deborah McGill and Mark Byers of EGS Commercial Real Estate represented Lawrence in the deal, and Glenn Ponder of Ponder Properties represented the landlord.

Lawrence said he has developed commercial real estate for 12 years, but when the market when south in 2008, he began looking for new things to do. The trampoline park trend also is a good fit for the current state of the market.

"With so many empty big box buildings across the country, this is a great reuse of existing buildings that really don't have a lot of options," he said.

In general, the parks are very safe, Lawrence said, adding that the trampolines are one level with nowhere to fall off.

"It's not like your backyard trampoline," he said. "Most of the injuries we get are turned ankles of people jumping and trampoline burn."

Join the conversation by leaving a comment or emailing Kent at dkent@bhamnews.com