Smith quickly rose through the ranks, managing multi-million dollar building projects for IP. This experience in large-scale project management helped hone Smith’s leadership skills: not only did he manage thousands of people & mega-million dollar projects, but he delivered on time and on budget for critical fast-track projects.

In pursuit of both personal and professional growth, Smith decided to challenge himself by leaving the world that he knew and loved to pursue a different facet of the business: home building! To that end, Smith founded Integrity Contractors in 1994. Committed to integrity in all facets of his life, the company name was apt, and served as its guiding tenet. Smith built a very successful company from the ground up, taking a very hands-on approach. (Even if it meant designing and implementing his own millwork in the earliest days of the company!) Smith’s Integrity Contractors generated great success in Northwest Florida with thousands of projects completed to satisfaction, including high-end custom homes, commercial projects, hotels, office facilities, commercial up-fits and community development.

When the winds of change turned the housing market on its ear, Smith recognized and pursued an opportunity to chart a new course in Charlotte, NC. His willingness to take risks and innovate in the world of home building has paid off. Smith has very successfully added large-scale production home building to an already well-versed resume. The depth and breadth of Smith’s professional experiences make him an asset to his clients and colleagues alike. He has integrated an extensive range of skill sets, from managing a large corporate structure, to owning a high-end custom, commercial and renovation company, to leading regional and national large-production home building companies, thereby delivering on projects and promises, time and again.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Smith has taken his passion for creativity, craftsmanship, and technological innovation and developed a corporation that befits his commitment to excellence. The result is an inspired corporation with a very big mission. Five divisions have been conceived and developed, each focused on a specific area of Smith’s subject matter expertise:

Avista Homes for quality production homebuilding

• Steve Smith Builders for high-end custom & large scale renovations
• Build Efficient a technology based professional resource for consulting and building efficiency;
• Avista Construction Commercial Building; and
• Avista Real Estate and Development real estate acquisition for land position

Steve Smith is enthusiastic about the future he is helping build, taking on projects with the end in mind. Yes, the passion and talent for building homes drives him to build efficiently and intelligently, with an integrity that demonstrates a job worth doing is worth doing well. Still, his greatest goal and satisfaction is to build a project whose client is, in the end, one very satisfied customer.