Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

South Dallas residents preserve local business as new developments will gradually appear on the MLK Jr. Boulevard corridor.

What originally started as an effort to revive the theater has expanded in scope, with Forest Forward acquiring several surrounding parcels of land between Julius Schepps Freeway and SM Wright Freeway. Forest Forward now owns the theater, the former liquor store just north of the theater, the gas station next door to the liquor store, and the lots behind the theater where an infamous gambling house once stood.

Ferrell Fellows' business model is simple: She buys off-market properties in South Dallas in need of serious repairs then renovates these homes, preserving character and history. They become residences for first-time homebuyers, long-term rentals for people not ready to take that leap, and shared housing for people she comes across in her community work, everyone from single parents to immigrants to prostitutes.

Fellows believes everyone deserves a dignified way to live.

“I’ve never seen the marquee light up before,” noted Elizabeth […]