Lone Star State Goes Modern - Page 2

The homes are condominiums although there are no shared walls, because zoning codes allowed for more units that way and the developers wanted the homes to start in the $270,000 range. That required more units on the 5.7-acres of Leander owned by Willie Kopecky.

"I wanted to keep the prices down for people who were getting squeezed out of Austin," the son explained. "The entire city of Austin is becoming gentrified. Land values are driving that, so all the houses [in this price range] are being torn down."

Starlight Village features eight models, ranging from 1,300 to almost 3,000 square feet. But since Jones is a custom homebuilder who is used to tailoring to a buyer's needs, Kopecky says Starlight Village's models are "basically custom homes."

The models have fun names like Palm Springs, Gemini, Apollo, and Telstar, with the most modest level of finishing called, appropriately enough, The Capehart. Kopecky is in charge of procuring optional MCM materials, including Eichler-style siding and terrazzo flooring.

"Each one has a different facade and different roof…so that none of them looks the same. That's kind of our goal," said Jones, who built his first home in 1997 and started his own business in 2007.

"When we first started, we expected young professionals," Lynda Jones said of their anticipated customer base. However, "the demographic that's really calling are in their forties and fifties and sixties."

"The mid-century modern people know what they want, and they're willing to write us checks," she said, although no homes have yet been built. "They're just in love with mid-century modern."

Kopecky noted that one buyer plans to rent out his Starlight Village condo for a couple of years until he can move to Leander himself, adding, "They're going ahead and writing us checks just so they don't lose their place in line."

"As far as I know, we're the first neighborhood to be built like this in 50 years," he said proudly. "It's a style I love, and it's what people want to buy."