During WavePoolMag’s Spring Tour, we shared a session with a surfer at Waco Surf who informed us that construction had halted on the Austin Surf Club. We later found out that the development had been hit at the time with $4.6 million in construction liens. This week, the Austin Business Journal reported that total lien claims for the project are running above $16 million.
Austin Surf Club Venture LP has raised approximately $66 million from investors, according to the Austin Business Journal.
The project is planned as a mixed-use residential and lifestyle community featuring a 2,200-foot-long Kelly Slater Wave Co. surf lagoon and 178 private residences, located on the former site of NLand Surf Park, which closed in 2018.
To move forward and further finance the project, developers filed a petition to create a Municipal Management District (MMD). The proposed MMD would generate property tax revenue and fund major infrastructure improvements.
The petition received support from land buyers, including NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
Developers have also sought to remove the project from Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which could reduce regulatory requirements and streamline approvals. The petition estimates that the development requires approximately $171 million in infrastructure investment.
Late last year, The Discovery Land Company released renders of the development showing a stately silhouette of the Austin skyline in the background. Included in the renders was a new V-shaped lake and several homes dotting the waterfront.
More on this story as the situation develops.
