{"id":367851,"date":"2026-07-10T04:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367851\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T04:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:33:31","slug":"kelly-slaters-luxury-texas-surf-park-hit-with-16m-wipeout-as-construction-stalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367851\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly Slater\u2019s luxury Texas surf park hit with $16M wipeout as construction stalls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/a> An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Aerial view of the Austin Surf Club in Texas with lakes, houses, and a cityscape in the background, Image 2 shows Kelly Slater attends the Life Rolls On Foundation’s <\/p>\n

Kelly Slater’s 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

<\/a> Austin Surf Club is a planned 333-acre private surf park and luxury residential community. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx <\/a> It’s 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

<\/a> The project is being developed in Del Valle, Texas, on the former site of NLand Surf Park, which closed in 2018. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx <\/a> The project’s controlling entity, Austin Surf Club Venture LP, raised roughly $66 million from investors. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx <\/a> Construction paused in April as it has been swamped by more than $16 million in construction liens. Instagram\/@austinsurfclubtx <\/p>\n

The project’s 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

<\/a> “This property was here to be made into this wave,” Slater said. “And I think this will be something I spend the rest of my life doing.” 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’s Instagram account, pitching it as the next step in his manmade-wave empire. <\/p>\n

“When 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’re building a whole community around it here in Austin, Texas,” Slater said in the video. “If you’re gonna have people live in a community you got to be somewhere around where they want to be.” <\/p>\n

“Austin sort of fell in our laps,” he added. “There’s a lot of stuff to do here, a lot of food, a lot of fun people around.” <\/p>\n

Slater said the property had “the right infrastructure and permitting and all the things we needed to make the project happen.” <\/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’s efforts to establish a Municipal Management District, according to The Real Deal. <\/p>\n

<\/a> The project has attracted high-profile buyers like Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey. Getty Images <\/a> 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’s 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

“While this thing’s gonna be real, we’re gonna build a community inspired by discovery, doing it with Discovery,” Slater said, adding that his friendship with Discovery Land Company founder Mike Meldman “made this thing gel.” <\/p>\n

“This property was here to be made into this wave,” Slater said. “And I think this will be something I spend the rest of my life doing.” <\/p>\n

The Texas turmoil comes after Slater’s manmade-wave empire already made a major splash in California<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Slater’s famed surf ranch in Lemoore was born only after his team killed off a far stranger plan: a circular surfing “merry-go-round” 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’s surfing empire \u2014 a private, residential surf paradise where members could ride perfect waves far from the ocean. <\/p>\n

Instead, for now, Slater’s luxury Texas surf dream is stuck in choppy water. <\/p>\n

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