June 2015
| Business World
163
In Austin, Texas an urban housing utopia is thriving. Amidst
the confusion of the city’s complex building codes, Riverside
Homes have emerged as specialists in green construction -
building modern custom homes in central Austin neighbor-
hoods that reflect the lifestyle of a new breed of home owner.
Scott Turner is an Austinite through and through. Working as a real
estate agent in the Austin market since 1996, Turner was exposed to
the business of urban construction and development at a young age. A
short time later, in 2001, Riverside Homes was born with its first proj-
ect in what is now one of Austin’s most recognizable locations.
“The 78704 zip code is what everyone knows here: It’s a part of town
that is very desirable, with lots of cool shops and restaurants, but at
the time it was really transitioning,” Turner said. “The neighborhood
was gentrifying, and prices were still affordable.”The project required a
zoning change and a handful of variances, not an easy task under Aus-
tin’s complex development code. “Looking back, I’m still not sure how
we pulled it off. It would be impossible today.”
