Kelly Slater\u2019s Texas wave-pool dream just got hit by a $16 million breaker.<\/p>\n
Austin Surf Club, a 333-acre private surf park and luxury residential community<\/a> backed by the 11-time world surfing champion, has been swamped by more than $16 million in construction liens as work on the splashy project grinds to a halt, according to The Real Deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ultra-exclusive development near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has been hit with a least another $11.6 million in liens, bringing the total north of $16 million, the outlet reported, citing public property filings first reported by the Austin Business Journal.<\/p>\n Austin Surf Club is a planned 333-acre private surf park and luxury residential community. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx<\/p>\n It\u2019s backed by Kelly Slater, a 11-time world surfing champion. WireImage<\/p>\n The project is being developed in Del Valle, Texas, on the former site of NLand Surf Park, which closed in 2018.<\/p>\n Austin Surf Club is backed by Slater and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Discovery Land Company, with Chase Koch, son of billionaire businessman Charles Koch, and local tech startup figure Jasen Trautwein also connected to the ownership, according to The Real Deal.<\/p>\n The project is being developed in Del Valle, Texas, on the former site of NLand Surf Park, which closed in 2018. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx<\/p>\n The project\u2019s controlling entity, Austin Surf Club Venture LP, raised roughly $66 million from investors. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx<\/p>\n Construction paused in April as it has been swamped by more than $16 million in construction liens. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx<\/p>\n The project\u2019s controlling entity, Austin Surf Club Venture LP, raised roughly $66 million from investors, according to the Austin Business Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the luxury surf oasis<\/a> has now slammed into a costly roadblock.<\/p>\n Project leaders acknowledged construction was paused in April, according to The Real Deal. That same month, the development was hit with $4.6 million in liens for work done in 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cThis property was here to be made into this wave,\u201d Slater said. \u201cAnd I think this will be something I spend the rest of my life doing.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n The latest round of liens has now pushed the total to more than $16 million.<\/p>\n Slater had personally hyped the project in a December video posted to Austin Surf Club\u2019s Instagram account, pitching it as the next step in his manmade-wave empire.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we built the first one we just hoped people would want to come surf it and it would kind of catch on, and now we\u2019re building a whole community around it here in Austin, Texas,\u201d Slater said in the video. \u201cIf you\u2019re gonna have people live in a community you got to be somewhere around where they want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAustin sort of fell in our laps,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stuff to do here, a lot of food, a lot of fun people around.\u201d<\/p>\n Slater said the property had \u201cthe right infrastructure and permitting and all the things we needed to make the project happen.\u201d<\/p>\n The development is centered on a 2,200-foot-long Kelly Slater Wave Co. surf lagoon and is planned as a mixed-use lifestyle community with 178 private residences, according to The Real Deal.<\/p>\n Surfer Magazine reported<\/a> the residences average for $2.25 million, while club memberships track around $1.25 million.<\/p>\n The premium grounds are also slated to include a wellness spa, fitness centers, pickleball courts, fine-dining restaurants and a private brewery, according to Surfer.<\/p>\n The project has already attracted high-profile buyers, including Hollywood star and Austin mascot Matthew McConaughey, skateboard icon Tony Hawk and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n Brees, a former Texas high school football star, has also supported the project\u2019s efforts to establish a Municipal Management District, according to The Real Deal.<\/p>\n The project has attracted high-profile buyers like Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey. Getty Images<\/p>\n Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been involved in the project too. Getty Images<\/p>\n That special taxing district would allow the development to generate property-tax revenue and help fund infrastructure improvements, including roads, utilities and wastewater systems.<\/p>\n The petition said the project needed roughly $171 million in infrastructure improvements, according to The Real Deal.<\/p>\n The controlling entities have also filed paperwork to remove the development from Austin\u2019s extra-territorial jurisdiction, a move that could cut through some local red tape.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear whether the liens have been resolved.<\/p>\n In the December promo video, Slater framed Austin Surf Club as more than just another wave pool.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this thing\u2019s gonna be real, we\u2019re gonna build a community inspired by discovery, doing it with Discovery,\u201d Slater said, adding that his friendship with Discovery Land Company founder Mike Meldman \u201cmade this thing gel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis property was here to be made into this wave,\u201d Slater said. \u201cAnd I think this will be something I spend the rest of my life doing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texas turmoil comes after Slater\u2019s manmade-wave empire already made a major splash in California<\/a>.<\/p>\n Slater\u2019s famed surf ranch in Lemoore was born only after his team killed off a far stranger plan: a circular surfing \u201cmerry-go-round\u201d that would have churned out a nonstop spherical wave.<\/p>\n The idea was eventually ditched for the now-famous 2,300-foot rectangular lagoon, where a hydrofoil system creates one of the most precise artificial waves on Earth.<\/p>\n Austin Surf Club was supposed to be another elite entry in Slater\u2019s surfing empire \u2014 a private, residential surf paradise where members could ride perfect waves far from the ocean.<\/p>\n Instead, for now, Slater\u2019s luxury Texas surf dream is stuck in choppy water.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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