Goodwin Gaw
Urban Visionary Award; Urban Developer
Goodwin Gaw has built a world-class real-estate portfolio by connecting the past to the future: He reimagines historic buildings for modern consumers, transforms obsolete industrial space into smart offices and breathes fresh life into staid commercial complexes. As Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, Goodwin has created one of the most respected and profitable private-equity companies investing in real estate.
And it all started in Los Angeles. In 1995, Goodwin bought the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a bankrupt, dilapidated landmark that had hosted the first Academy Awards in 1929. By revamping and repositioning the hotel, he not only turned it around, he contributed to the revitalization of Hollywood. Goodwin saw similar promise for downtown L.A. and bought heritage properties there, including One Bunker Hill and the Bradbury Building. Today, downtown and Hollywood are among L.A.’s most vibrant neighborhoods.
Through his company, Downtown Properties, Goodwin purchased distressed properties across the United States, before returning to Hong Kong to test his vision of modern management and urban redevelopment in Greater China. He and his brother, Kenneth, launched Gaw Capital Partners in 2005 (their sister, Christina, joined later). Goodwin’s team won the trust of worldwide investors by moving quickly and delivering on bold, often contrarian, bets, including two of Beijing’s biggest redevelopment projects. Gaw Capital now has assets of $18 billion under management, stretching from Los Angeles to London and from Dalian to Danang. They include Hong Kong malls, hotels like the Standard High Line in New York, residential developments throughout China and a co-working space in Shanghai. Goodwin seeks to create communities, not just buildings, and improve both urban life and lifestyle. After studying civil engineering and finance at the University of Pennsylvania, Goodwin earned a master’s degree in construction management from Stanford. He remains vital to the city where he launched his career. Goodwin is a part owner of the L.A. Football Club professional soccer team, he developed the property near Chinatown that houses David Chang’s restaurant Majordomo, and he recently invested in NeueHouse, a co-working space created in another Hollywood landmark – the former home to CBS radio and television.