City asks UT for month-to-month extension of Muny lease

The city of Austin is asking the University of Texas to consider extending both the Brackenridge Development Agreement and the Lions Municipal Golf Course lease on a month-to-month basis, according to a letter to the UT System director of real estate.

The proposal, sent Thursday, is the latest chapter in negotiations over the future of the 500-acre tract of land, which the university has owned since 1910. Since 1924, UT has leased out 140 acres of the Brackenridge Tract for the Lions Municipal Golf Course. Often called “Muny,” the course is recognized as one of the first courses in the South to desegregate prior to Brown v. Board of Education. The city took over the Muny lease in 1936, and Austin residents have for decades enjoyed the land as both a golf course and a green space.

The city currently leases the course for about $500,000 a year, but that agreement is set to expire in May if the university doesn’t approve an extension. The university has offered in the past to sell the land to the city for $110 million, which school officials described as a “reasonable value.” In 2019, the Muny tract, and an adjacent property leased to the West Austin Youth Association, was valued at more than $203 million, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District.

Last year, a bill by state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, established a special district with the goal of preserving the course for golf or as parkland. The district, led by five-person board, has the ability to impose fees on customers of the city utility system who live within the district, if approved by district voters. Revenue from such a fee could be used to underwrite the cost of purchasing or preserving Muny.

Mary Arnold, chair of the Save Historic Muny District board, said the members have been discussing a possible vote on such a fee. Right now, she said, they don’t have enough information about the financial makeup of the district, but she is hoping to know enough in time to put a measure on the ballot in November.

The city’s proposed month-to-month extension would require either party to give at least five months’ notice before canceling the agreement.

“The extension of the (Brackenridge Development Agreement) will extend the opportunity for the University and the City to engage in discussions towards forging a strategic agreement that encompasses the BDA as well exploring other opportunities for the City and the University to collaborate for the benefit of the citizens of Austin and the University community,” the city’s letter said.

The city hopes an extension will give both parties a chance to work on shared goals, including affordable housing; public transportation near and around UT properties; and the preservation and creation of open space and parkland.

The five-month termination notice also will allow the city to operate the golf course as an “ongoing enterprise” — providing certainty for booking future events, managing employees and planning future maintenance.

Shilpa Bakre, a UT spokesperson, said the university had received the city’s letter and is reviewing it.

“The university remains committed to finding a long-term plan that is mutually beneficial to the city and UT and continues to use the Muny tract as a golf course or open space,” she said.