Austin's Crux Climbing Gym sued over climbing walls

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Crux Climbing Center's location in south Austin will be leaving its space at the end of this year, but whether the landlord or Crux owns the climbing walls inside of the gym is up for question.

The building landlord, 3432 Pickle LLC, filed a civil lawsuit saying Crux's claim that the climbing walls are "trade fixtures" are erroneous. The landlord is seeking a declaration that the climbing walls are its property.

Commercial broker Aiden Morgensteren with McAllister and Associates said trade fixtures are usually spelled out in the initial lease agreement, but it can become a gray area.

"Trade fixtures would be like the sign of the business that is renting out front or like specific shelving," Morgenstern said. "If it does cause serious changes to the property and you don't have it spelled out within the lease, that's when you'll have to get a lawyer involved."

Grace Nicholas, the chief operating officer for Crux, said they are fighting the accusations.

"We are disputing all allegations, and we have found counsel to help us dispute," Nicholas said.

KXAN also reached out to 3432 Pickle LLC and have not heard back yet. We will update this article if they reply back.

On Tuesday, Crux had the ribbon cutting for a new location in Pflugerville at 18817 N. Heatherwilde Blvd. The new facility features 58-foot-tall climbing walls, a dedicated fitness studio, lounge space on the mezzanine with dedicated remote work rooms, and much more. Nicholas said she's excited about what's to come at the new facility.

"We built the building ourselves. We went taller than we've ever gone," Nicholas said. "We're really excited to be able to provide a community space that showcases all that Crux has to offer."

The grand opening for the Pflugerville location is on December 13th. The opening of this new location and the lawsuit comes amid drama around negotiations with the current lease.

In October, Crux said in an Instagram post that Austin Bouldering Project had negotiated a lease with the landlord, without Crux’s knowledge, to take over their Pickle Road location. At the time of publishing, more than 5,000 people have liked the post. 

The landlord told KXAN that Crux declined to enter a “longer-term commitment” in 2023. The landlord said in October that it had offered Crux a 10-year lease on the location.

Austin Bouldering Project told KXAN at the time that it didn’t conspire with the location’s landlord. Kyle Wiggins, Austin market director for national gym chain Bouldering Project, said they viewed the space as an opportunity to further support the climbing hobby in Austin.