Now, a proposed agreement between the City of Austin and The University of Texas at Austin (UT) would transfer full ownership of the 141-acre golf course to the city, protecting the historic green space for the future. Under the deal, the university would receive updated rules for developing about 190 acres of nearby land it owns along Lake Austin Boulevard. For more than half a century, Austin residents have fought to protect the historic Lions Municipal Golf Course from being taken over by property developers. The agreement could end a long-running dispute over the future of the course, known affectionately to locals as Muny. It sits on valuable waterfront land near downtown Austin.
City leaders said the agreement balances the need to protect public green space with plans for careful urban growth along the sensitive waterfront of Lady Bird Lake. “Development in this special area, along Lady Bird Lake, must be thoughtful and executed with the deepest care,” said Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax in an official statement. “The agreement will enable both the City and the University to guide development in a way that accomplishes each of our goals. ” Preservation groups, neighborhood associations, and local golfers have spent decades campaigning to stop commercial development at the course. Over the years, supporters formed nonprofit groups, raised money, and contacted state lawmakers and university regents to find a permanent way to protect the land.
The proposed deal will make formal changes to the 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement. In exchange for transferring the 141-acre golf course to the city, the city and university will agree on a development plan for the university’s remaining 190 acres in the area. The updated agreement also includes several related city actions, according to the official announcement published by the City of Austin.
This agreement is a contract between local government bodies that sets rules for how the university system can develop its land along Lake Austin Boulevard. This land includes the nearby Brackenridge Field Laboratory and surrounding properties. These include changing UT’s long-term lease for city-owned property at the former Mueller airport site, exchanging certain public rights-of-way, and creating a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to help pay for infrastructure and public improvements across the development area. The land deal would allow the university to move ahead with planned commercial and residential development on its remaining properties. At the same time, it would ensure that the golf course stays intact as open public space.