Deion's greatest play yet

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'Neon Deion' aiming to brighten S. Dallas

Ex-Cowboy's firm part of development plans including homes, retail

08:31 PM CDT on Monday, June 27, 2005

By KRYSTLE FERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News

Former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders is putting his "Prime Time" nickname on some much-needed development in South Dallas.



Dallas City Council member Leo Chaney said Monday that Mr. Sanders will participate in a construction project to build homes and retail shops at Malcolm X Boulevard and Grand Avenue.

The city will work with Mr. Sanders' Prime Time Development Corp. and the Dallas-based SouthFair Community Development and Higher Level Development corporations, Mr. Chaney announced at City Hall.

"We've been working very diligently to revitalize the southern sector," Mr. Chaney said. "I'm just so delighted that Mr. Deion Sanders has a vision."

Mr. Sanders said he knows the northern and southern sectors of Dallas remain very different.

"We understand there are resources that need to be found to bridge that gap," he said. "I'm not just lending my name and my resources. What we're trying to do is really bless the community and give them opportunities."

The project, scheduled to begin about a year from now, will put about 200 single-family homes in the Jefferies Meyers neighborhood, said Henry Lawson, SouthFair executive director. The plan also includes two retail and business plazas.

"This should not be a neighborhood retail center. It must have some kind of regional appeal," Mr. Lawson said.

Millions of people are drawn to the Fair Park area but leave, Mr. Chaney said.

"We need something to make them stay," he said.

The home prices will start between $108,000 and $115,000, Mr. Lawson said. Developers hope to draw more professionals to the area – teachers, police officers and firefighters.

They see the project as a way to build a gateway to surrounding areas, Mr. Lawson said.

"We want to do it in such a way that connects the area to Deep Ellum, to Fair Park and to the Cedars," he said. "You have to think big."

Mr. Sanders is happy to be part of the project, from a business and a personal standpoint.

"We need to educate African-Americans about really owning a home, not renting for the rest of their lives," he said. "I'm doing this because there is a need."

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And who knows, he might even make a buck.