Jason Woodard is a man with a plan for Dayton and a view from the top.
The founder and principal of Woodard Development is responsible for dozens of major commercial and residential developments in downtown Dayton and the surrounding region.
The vision for Water Street District was brought alive by Woodard and partners at Columbus-based Crawford Hoying. Together the two real estate development companies have infused hundreds of millions of dollars in creating a livable, entertaining mixed-use district with residences, restaurants, retail and offices.
The former accounting auditor for Arthur Andersen spent eight years in the accounting department at Miller Valentine Construction before making a leap into what he calls the more tangible development side of real estate.
“I do better with tangible things; you can’t get more tangible than real estate,” Woodard said.
From Miller Valentine, he joined RG Properties in 2008. It was at just the right time as Austin Landing was in the planning stages.
“I’ve been fortunate timing-wise in my career,” Woodard said.
He had a front-row seat for construction of the highway interchange and development of the mixed-use Austin Landing led by real estate pioneer Randy Gunlock, the founder of RG Properties.
“We built Austin Landing through the recession; Randy funded a lot of it upfront,” Woodard said.
He spent four years there before venturing out on his own to start Woodard Development in 2012.
“When you’re in this business it becomes a natural progression as you gain experience,” Woodard said of starting his own firm. “I know the local market and have a good feel for what’s happening and the need.”
Woodard wasn’t without any skeptics.
“I was told I couldn’t do it on my own; that was a motivating moment,” he said. “I had my own ideas for downtown.”
The hardest part of starting a new business is, “Going from a steady paycheck to having to scratch and claw to get projects started.”
Either way, he jumped in with both feet. Water Street was their first project.
Woodard and Water Street now comprises five residential communities; multiple hotels; class A offices; and restaurants and retail spaces. And there’s plenty more to come with the massive redevelopment of Mendelsons next to Day Air Ballpark.
The Mendelsons redevelopment — called the Delco — will include three floors of office; retail spaces; 500 parking spaces; and multi-family residential units. There are letters of intent expected soon for some of the office spaces.
“There’s been so much development that … now we’re at a point of filling in,” Woodard said. “There’s a lot of opportunity left in the Water Street area.”
The area has been successful in attracting a lot of food, beverage and entertainment users. Woodard says he’d like to see more live music venues added.
“We have all the big lifts,” Woodard said. “It would be interesting if we could leverage Dayton Live, the Levitt, etc. and make it a live music center.”