An exclusive surfing community that recently broke ground near Austin, TX, is already drawing interest from a bevy of high-profile buyers, according to a new report.
Matthew McConaughey, Drew Brees, and Tony Hawk are among the interested parties for properties and memberships at the Austin Surf Club, according to the Austin Business Journal, citing public and private documents.
The upscale surf club southeast of Austin is being developed by Arizona-based Discovery Land Co. in partnership with legendary surfer Kelly Slater.
Following groundbreaking in January, the development is still in its early stages. Plans call for more than 140 condos and homes, a brewery, cafe, restaurant, and clubhouse—all centered around a massive artificial wave pool.
The developers have remained tight-lipped about the project, with the club’s official website offering few details and no renderings of what the finished community will look like.
(City of Austin)
But behind the scenes, the developer’s sales team has been working diligently to attract buyer interest, scheduling sales meetings to coincide with the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Stagecoach Festival in California, golf tournaments, and Art Basel in Miami, according to the Journal.
Documents obtained by the Journal indicate that a $550,000 budget was proposed for the sales team for client dinners and travel this year alone.
The Austin Surf Club sales team had reported 49 total sales totaling $98.3 million in revenue as of November, including 12 surf memberships and 37 real estate transactions, the outlet said.
Sales targets reported by the Journal indicate that memberships cost an average of $1.25 million, while home site sales average $2.25 million. All home sites are sold along with a membership, according to the documents.
Discovery Land Co. did not respond to a request for comment from Realtor.com® on Tuesday, but the developer in a statement to the Journal declined to confirm the identities of prospective buyers.
(Getty Images for Crown Royal)
“Austin Surf Club will be the first-of-its-kind, lifestyle community in Texas built from the ground up, designed with sustainability in mind,” the statement said. “Unreliably sourced information distracts from our bold vision and what we have set out to achieve. We continue to operate at the highest levels of integrity and respect the privacy of our members and investors.”
Upscale real estate developers frequently take pains to shield their famous clients from scrutiny.
However, property records reported by the Journal tie entities connected to McConaughey and Brees to the sale of home sites in the development. Hawk, the pro skateboarding legend, is listed as a member.
McConaughey, the actor, is a Texas native and University of Texas alum with longstanding ties to Austin. He and his wife, Camila, are also part owners of the MLS club Austin FC.
Brees, the former NFL quarterback, went to high school in Austin.
The developers, who own parcels totaling more than 330 acres near the project site, broke ground on the Austin Surf Club in January.
