diff --git a/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md b/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
index b4e3d1c56..085b4d09a 100644
--- a/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 
 ### Bug Fixes
 
+* Fall back to the remote runtime implementation when the legacy user namespace cannot be materialized. On Spark Connect runtimes (e.g. shared-access-mode clusters), importing `databricks.sdk.runtime` — which happens when constructing a `WorkspaceClient` on such a cluster — tried to build a legacy `SparkContext` and raised `CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT` at import time. It now logs a warning and falls back to the Spark Connect-compatible remote implementation instead of crashing.
+
 ### Documentation
 
 ### Breaking Changes
diff --git a/databricks/sdk/runtime/__init__.py b/databricks/sdk/runtime/__init__.py
index 1b5c40573..4d994d0b5 100644
--- a/databricks/sdk/runtime/__init__.py
+++ b/databricks/sdk/runtime/__init__.py
@@ -93,9 +93,10 @@ def inner() -> Dict[str, str]:
         return None, None
 
 
+# Internal implementation
+# Separated from above for backward compatibility
+_use_runtime_namespace = False
 try:
-    # Internal implementation
-    # Separated from above for backward compatibility
     from dbruntime import UserNamespaceInitializer
 
     userNamespaceGlobals = UserNamespaceInitializer.getOrCreate().get_namespace_globals()
@@ -105,7 +106,20 @@ def inner() -> Dict[str, str]:
             continue
         _globals[var] = userNamespaceGlobals[var]
     is_local_implementation = False
+    _use_runtime_namespace = True
 except ImportError:
+    # Not running inside a classic Databricks runtime; fall back to the OSS implementation below.
+    pass
+except Exception as e:
+    # On Spark Connect runtimes (e.g. shared-access-mode clusters), materializing the
+    # legacy user namespace builds a SparkContext, which is unavailable in remote clients
+    # and raises CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT. Treat this like "not in a classic
+    # runtime" and fall back to the OSS/remote implementation below, which is Spark
+    # Connect-compatible. Without this, importing databricks.sdk.runtime (and therefore
+    # constructing a WorkspaceClient on such a cluster) raises at import time.
+    logger.warning(f"Runtime namespace unavailable, falling back to remote implementation: {e}")
+
+if not _use_runtime_namespace:
     # OSS implementation
     is_local_implementation = True
 
diff --git a/tests/test_runtime.py b/tests/test_runtime.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d54e72bf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_runtime.py
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+"""Tests for the import-time behavior of the ``databricks.sdk.runtime`` package."""
+
+import importlib
+import sys
+import types
+
+import pytest
+
+
+class _RemoteClientInitializer:
+    """Stand-in for ``dbruntime.UserNamespaceInitializer`` on a Spark Connect runtime.
+
+    On a shared-access-mode (Spark Connect) cluster, materializing the legacy user namespace
+    builds a ``SparkContext``, which is unavailable in remote clients and raises
+    ``CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT``.
+    """
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def getOrCreate():
+        class _Namespace:
+            def get_namespace_globals(self):
+                raise RuntimeError(
+                    "[CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT] Calls to SparkContext are not "
+                    "supported on a Spark Connect cluster. Use spark instead."
+                )
+
+        return _Namespace()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def spark_connect_runtime(monkeypatch):
+    """Simulate a Spark Connect runtime: ``dbruntime`` is importable, but materializing the
+    legacy user namespace raises ``CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT``."""
+    fake = types.ModuleType("dbruntime")
+    fake.UserNamespaceInitializer = _RemoteClientInitializer
+    had_dbruntime = "dbruntime" in sys.modules
+    saved_dbruntime = sys.modules.get("dbruntime")
+    sys.modules["dbruntime"] = fake
+
+    # The remote fallback constructs ``RemoteDbUtils()``, which initializes a default ``Config``;
+    # give it hermetic PAT credentials so the fallback itself doesn't fail for unrelated auth
+    # reasons (see databricks-sdk-py#986).
+    monkeypatch.setenv("DATABRICKS_HOST", "https://test.cloud.databricks.com")
+    monkeypatch.setenv("DATABRICKS_TOKEN", "test-token")
+
+    saved_runtime = sys.modules.get("databricks.sdk.runtime")
+    try:
+        yield
+    finally:
+        if had_dbruntime:
+            sys.modules["dbruntime"] = saved_dbruntime
+        else:
+            sys.modules.pop("dbruntime", None)
+        # Restore ``databricks.sdk.runtime`` to its pre-test state. If it was loaded before this
+        # test, reload it cleanly while the PAT env is still set; otherwise drop it so it is
+        # re-imported lazily on next use.
+        if saved_runtime is None:
+            sys.modules.pop("databricks.sdk.runtime", None)
+        else:
+            importlib.reload(saved_runtime)
+
+
+def test_runtime_import_survives_spark_connect_remote_client(spark_connect_runtime):
+    """Regression for dbt-databricks#1252: importing ``databricks.sdk.runtime`` on a Spark
+    Connect runtime must fall back to the remote implementation instead of raising."""
+    import databricks.sdk.runtime as runtime
+
+    importlib.reload(runtime)  # re-execute the module body with the faked ``dbruntime`` present
+
+    assert runtime.is_local_implementation is True
+    assert runtime.dbutils is not None
+
+
+def test_workspace_client_constructs_on_spark_connect(spark_connect_runtime, config):
+    """End-to-end: constructing a ``WorkspaceClient`` on a Spark Connect runtime must not raise
+    ``CONTEXT_UNAVAILABLE_FOR_REMOTE_CLIENT`` (the actual dbt-databricks#1252 failure, since
+    ``WorkspaceClient.__init__`` eagerly builds dbutils via ``databricks.sdk.runtime``)."""
+    import databricks.sdk.runtime as runtime
+
+    importlib.reload(runtime)
+
+    from databricks.sdk import WorkspaceClient
+
+    ws = WorkspaceClient(config=config)
+
+    assert ws is not None