Shawn Todd

Todd is a pioneer of adaptive reuse in Downtown Dallas. 

He worked under real estate veterans Bill Foose and George Connell at Connell Development Company before launching his namesake firm in 1990. Its early strategy was to target real‑estate anomalies, such as distressed, bankrupt, or historically significant properties, using adaptive reuse and creative financial structuring. 

Notable projects include 400 North Ervay, in which Todd converted a historic U.S. Post Office into 78 luxury apartments; One Dallas Center at 350 North St. Paul Street, where Todd converted the tower into 14 floors of offices and 16 floors of residences; and The National, formerly First National Bank Tower at 1401 Elm Street, where Todd conducted a $450 million historic restoration, the largest adaptive reuse in Texas. The National is now home to apartments, a hotel, retail and restaurants. 

The firm also revitalized the East Quarter, turning 18 buildings just east of downtown Dallas into a mixed-use district. He recently bought Whitney Park, a famous Adirondack estate. He made headlines in 2023 when he bought a former Texas state park with plans to develop a luxury resort. The state of Texas threatened to engage in an eminent domain fight to preserve the park but ended up dropping the effort. 

Two early 2025 events mean Todd Interests is likely shifting focus from Downtown Dallas: the firm sold its stake in East Quarter and it handed back the keys to the National to lender Starwood. 

— Jess Hardin