Austin Surf Club, the private surf community that Kelly Slater and Discovery Land Company are building southeast of Austin, has been stalled since April. What started as $4.6 million in contractor liens has grown past $16 million, and the developers are now asking for a special tax district to pay for the roads, utilities and wastewater the project still needs.
How the pause unfolded
The Real Deal, citing the Austin Business Journal, reported in late April 2026 that construction had stopped after seven businesses filed $4.6 million in liens for work done in 2025 and 2026. The developer did not give a restart timeline.
By 1 July the same outlet reported at least $11.6 million in additional liens against Austin Surf Club Venture LP, the project's controlling entity, taking the total past $16 million. Its headline described the developers as looking to restart construction. No restart date has been announced since.
The $171 million tax district
The larger development is the financing plan. Surfer reported in July that the developers had petitioned to create a municipal management district, a special taxing district that would raise about $171 million in property tax revenue over time for infrastructure including wastewater, utilities and roads. A district like this lets future property owners pay for the infrastructure through their tax bills rather than the developer funding it up front.
It also means the project's next step depends on a public approval process as well as on settling with contractors.
What was planned
The community sits on more than 330 acres in Del Valle, on the site of the former NLand Surf Park, which closed in 2018. It broke ground in January 2025 around a Kelly Slater Wave Co basin, the same technology as the Surf Ranch in Lemoore and Surf Abu Dhabi. Reported plans differ on the size of the residential side: The Real Deal reported 147 residences, while Surfer reported 178 averaging $2.25 million, with club memberships around $1.25 million.
Access was always going to be private, for owners and members, so no public sessions were ever planned.
Good to Know
For a buyer, the question is timing and exposure. Liens attach to the property until they are paid or resolved, and a tax district adds a long-term cost to every home inside it. Anyone with a deposit or contract here should ask the developer directly how the liens are being handled and what the district would add to annual property taxes.
For surfers in Texas, nothing changes today. Waco Surf remains the state's operating wave pool, and Cannon Beach near Dallas is targeting late 2027. Austin Surf Club's own opening has no date. Our opening tracker lists it under projects with no credible date, and the real-estate page has the development details.
