Austin Surf Club Owes More Than 4M in Liens

A Central Texas surfing development favored by celebrities is bogging.

Construction has paused at the Austin Surf Club, a surf park and condo community on Navarro Creek Road in Del Valle developed by professional surfer Kelly Slater and Scottsdale, Arizona-based Discovery Land Company, as the project faces $4.6 million in construction liens, according to the Austin Business Journal.

Seven businesses have filed liens since early March claiming that Austin Surf Club Venture LP hasn’t compensated them for work done in the past year, the outlet reported. The invoices add up to $4.6 million for services and materials such as water treatment, mechanical equipment and sand.

In a statement, leadership said it is refining plans to ensure the development meets its “global standard for luxury, technology and surfing,” while declining to offer a restart timeline, according to the publication.

The 333-acre development features condos interspersed among several manmade surf lagoons. In addition to the community’s 147 residences, the company has been selling a limited number of surfing memberships in an ambitious marketing campaign that sent sales representatives to Hawaii, Florida and California. Buyers include Austin actor Matthew McConaughey, skater Tony Hawk and NFL star Drew Brees, the outlet reported.

At least 40 units have traded, including as recently as March.

The broader vision remains ambitious: Plans include multiple surf basins, including a 20-acre “outer reef” capable of generating 10-foot waves, alongside a private club ecosystem of dining, wellness, sports facilities and curated experiences. According to the publication, Austin Surf Club, much like other Discovery Land projects, weaves lifestyle and exclusivity into the fabric of the sale as much as the real estate itself.

It’s not the only surf lagoon-anchored development underway in Texas. iLand Development Group is pursuing a mixed-use project called Leander Springs — which was also beset by construction liens in 2024 — about 30 miles north of the Austin Surf Club. In Houston, Beach Street Development is working on HTX Surf, a surf lagoon in Generation Park. The owners of a Waco waterpark plan to develop a master-planned community around a new surf lagoon outside the city, and the City of McKinney is planning a lagoon-anchored mixed-use development in the Metroplex.

— Isaiah Mitchell