Jonas Woods

One of Downtown Dallas’ most visible champions was born and raised in the Houston suburb of Katy, where his family owned a rice farm. 

Woods is a Hillwood alum who spent more than a decade at the Perot firm, rising to lead the firm’s investment arm and helping develop Victory Park, the Uptown neighborhood across Woodall Rodgers Freeway from downtown, and its anchor, American Airlines Center. Since its redevelopment, Victory Park has become a key puzzle piece of “Y’all Street,” and will be home to Goldman Sachs’ new Dallas campus at North End. 

Woods left Hillwood in 2007 to launch his own outfit, Woods Capital. He partnered with Kyle Bass of “The Big Short” fame to establish Hayman Woods, to buy distressed real estate. His Hayman Woods payday provided the capital to buy Thanksgiving Tower, which would become Woods’ signature project. He converted the office tower into a hotel, luxury multifamily, office and ground-level retail. 

The challenges of revitalizing Downtown Dallas plus the curveballs thrown by the pandemic have created hiccups for Woods, who lost Comerica Tower and One Dallas Center to foreclosure in 2024 and 2025.  

Woods has more recently gotten in on the Y’all Street action in Uptown by partnering with KDC to develop the 30-story Parkside Uptown, which will be home to Bank of America. 

— Jess Hardin