Lara Burns Boyda epitomizes the modern real estate executive: a savvy business leader with a genuine passion for her community. As Chief Operating Officer at Urbanspace, Lara has spent the last two decades not just building a career, but helping to build the city of Austin.

Her journey with Urbanspace began in 2003 while she was studying Economics at The University of Texas at Austin. After earning her real estate license in 2004, Lara’s natural aptitude for management and finance propelled her through the ranks. She transitioned from overseeing the company’s accounting to serving as Chief Financial Officer, before taking the helm as COO. It was during her foundational years that Lara honed her agile leadership style, successfully navigating the company’s newly introduced Interiors division through the recession.

As Urbanspace began its storied run as the market leader for downtown Austin condominium sales, Lara was the driving operational force. For highly successful, exclusive projects such as Seaholm, The Independent, The LAAN, 44 East Ave, and The Modern Austin Residences, Lara developed and managed the complex life cycles from the ground up. Alongside her team, she served as the indispensable liaison among buyers, developers, contractors, architects, and the sales team, ensuring every moving part worked in perfect unison.

Her operational foresight also propelled Urbanspace’s natural evolution into real estate development and hospitality. Lara is an integral part of the development team that recently brought the skyline-defining, 56-story Modern Austin Residences to life. Beyond the skyline, she helps curate Austin’s social fabric through the Urbanspace hospitality division, shaping vibrant concepts like Codependent and Modern Bar.

Today, Lara oversees all divisions of the Urbanspace brand. She loves the opportunity to grow alongside her city, viewing each new concept, project, and hire as a chance to foster legacy and lead with integrity and style.

Equally impressive is Lara’s dedication to civic leadership and her passion for empowering women in the workplace. Her extensive philanthropic footprint includes serving as a Trustee for the Long Center for the Performing Arts, a former Board Member for the Real Estate Council of Austin, and an active Board Member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas — an organization close to her heart where she previously volunteered as a “Big” and chaired the highly successful 2025 Annual Charity Gala.

Lara’s impact on Austin’s business and real estate landscape has been widely recognized. She was honored as ULI’s 2025 Member of the Year, named an Austin Under 40 (AU40) Finalist, and recognized as one of the Austin Business Journal‘s “Women Under 30 to Watch.” A true champion for female leadership, Lara is a founding steering committee member and past Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Women’s Leadership Initiative – Austin Chapter (WLI), where she continues to actively serve.

Lara lives the downtown lifestyle she helps curate, residing in the heart of Austin with her husband, Matthew, their sons, Boone and Baer, and their dogs, Biscuit and Sansa.