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A nearly completed $8 million clubhouse at the University of Texas Golf Club was destroyed by fire Wednesday afternoon.
The 16,000-square-foot clubhouse, at 2200 University Club Drive, was under construction and nearly 70 percent complete when the fire started about 12:30 p.m., said Dale Faust, spokesman for the Hudson Bend Fire Department. The fire was smoldering hours later Wednesday and had left a mostly charred shell.
It took about an hour and a half for firefighters, battling strong winds, to control the blaze. “The winds … pushed the fire throughout the building,” Faust said. “It wasn’t long until just about every piece of this thing was burning.”
Wind gusts of up to 30 mph were reported near the golf club Wednesday afternoon, said Bob Rose, Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist.
The clubhouse was scheduled to open in March, said Steve Termeer, the golf club’s general manager.
The fire affected only the new clubhouse, not other buildings near it, Faust said.
Faust said investigators think that the fire started on the roof. The cause was under investigation, he said, adding that fire officials called the building a total loss.
Construction workers were on the roof when the fire was spotted, but no injuries were reported, Faust said.
