Lagoon, Surf Park Developments Abound in Central Texas

Central Texas is awash in development proposals centered on manufactured beaches, but delivery seems far off on the horizon.

iLand Development Group is trying to reboot a development by tapping the federal EB-5 immigration program to court foreign investors for Leander Springs, a proposed $1 billion-plus mixed-use project centered around a 4-acre artificial lagoon, the Austin Business Journal reported.

The developer turned to the program that allows foreigners and their families to get permanent resident cards in exchange for investing in U.S. commercial enterprises, after losing an incentives deal with the city and facing liens from contractors.

A revised plan with reduced apartment units and tweaks to water use policies is headed to Leander’s city council this fall. The latest plan calls for 1,200 apartment units, down from 1,600 in prior proposals, along with 1 million square feet of commercial space, a hotel and convention center and the lagoon.

Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle has for years been opposed to iLand’s project over water use concerns and, more recently, whether it would actually deliver.

“One of the concerns that we had previously is ensuring that if something goes wrong with the project, we don’t end up with a big dirt hole in that piece of land,” DeLisle said.

Meanwhile, iLand is also floating Laguna Marble Falls, a proposed $400 million community with a lagoon and monorail about 50 miles northwest of Austin. The project would include apartments, townhomes, retail and public infrastructure upgrades. Marble Falls city officials confirmed negotiations are underway for a development agreement, though iLand doesn’t yet own the land.

Aside from Lagoons, there are also surf park proposals.

Australian surf technology firm Surf Lakes Global recently named former Topgolf president Troy Warfield as CEO to steer its push into the U.S., including plans for a surf park at the heart of the $1-billion Pura Vida community in Mustang Ridge, 20 miles southeast of Austin.

That project, led by Austin-based SonWest Company, secured legislative approval this year for a municipal management district to help finance public improvements on the 211-acre site.

The development would include residential, retail, a hotel and civic space alongside the surf park, adding to the growing wave of water-themed projects throughout Central Texas. Similar surf-centric communities are in the works north of Mustang Ridge with celebrity backers like Matthew McConaughey and Kelly Slater.

— Judah Duke