![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ferrell-Fellows.jpg\")
Ferrell Fellows stands outside the MLK Wellness Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Fellows is the founder and CEO of Kingdom Legacy. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the gist:<\/p>\n
The MLK Wellness Center<\/a> is now open in South Dallas, offering healthy food, fitness, mental health services and other community resources across the street from the \u201cGreat\u201d James Madison High School<\/a>.<\/p>\n Developer Ferrell Fellows first expected the project to take about 18 months, but it stretched to nearly five years because of permitting delays, infrastructure issues, rising construction costs, copper theft, vandalism and other setbacks.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s cost grew from an estimated $1.2 million to nearly $1.6 million, requiring a mix of community investment, public funding, bank financing and personal investment from Fellows and her husband.<\/p>\n Fellows and other community developers, such as James Brown of Dallas City Homes<\/a> and Maggie Parker of Innovan Neighborhoods<\/a>, say the project shows how difficult it can be to build in historically underinvested neighborhoods where aging infrastructure and limited upfront capital can delay or derail projects.<\/p>\n Now that the center is open, Fellows says the focus is on building partnerships and making wellness services more accessible to South Dallas residents.<\/p>\n \t\t\tShow more\n\t<\/p>\n Kingdom Caf\u00e9\u2019s first customer of the day was in line at 7:30 a.m. The 16-year-old, a \u201cGreat\u201d James Madison High School student, told Ferrell Fellows he had nowhere to go before school started at 9:15.\u00a0<\/p>\n By 9 a.m., Fellows says about 30 students had come into the caf\u00e9, located inside the newly opened MLK Wellness Center across the street from Madison. Many of them would otherwise be waiting outside before the school day begins.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of them don\u2019t have any money, but we give them a safe place to go before and after school,\u201d Fellows told neighbors during August\u2019s Pointe South Business Group meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n The opening marks the realization of a vision developer Ferrell Fellows first shared with Dallas Free Press in 2023<\/a>: creating a neighborhood hub where her fellow South Dallas residents can access healthy food, fitness, mental health services and other resources designed to improve well-being.<\/p>\n Back then, Fellows predicted opening the MLK Wellness Center<\/a> would take about 18 months. Instead, the project stretched more than four years as she navigated permitting delays, aging and incompatible infrastructure, rising construction costs and other hurdles that reveal what it takes to bring a community development project to life in South Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learned a great deal about successful commercial real estate developments in the City of Dallas, and what sort of resilience and stick-to-itiveness you need \u2014\u00a0the grit you need \u2014 to be able to actually achieve your goals,\u201d Fellows says.<\/p>\n Why an 18-month project took almost five years<\/p>\n One of the project\u2019s biggest setbacks came in 2023, when a ransomware attack on the City of Dallas disrupted the permitting process shortly after the wellness center\u2019s architectural plans had been submitted. The city\u2019s permitting system remained offline for months, forcing Fellows to restart portions of the application process after records were lost.<\/p>\n Additional delays followed. Supply chain shortages required the project team to redesign its electrical plans after originally specified equipment became unavailable. Oncor also had to install new utility poles because the existing electrical infrastructure lacked the capacity to support a commercial building \u2014 despite that the structure has been in place since at least 1985, according to City of Dallas permitting records.<\/p>\n Then came another surprise, beneath the property. As crews prepared to connect the building to the city\u2019s sewer system, they discovered inaccurate utility maps and sewer lines that were more than 100 years old, requiring months of investigation and costly retrofits before construction could move forward.<\/p>\n Like Fellows<\/a>, Jason Brown<\/a> is also a South Dallas resident and runs a community development firm, Dallas City Homes<\/a>. Brown describes Fellows\u2019 experience as a \u201cperfect storm,\u201d but says that underlying infrastructure problems are common when redeveloping older properties.<\/p>\n \u201cSewer is one thing that comes up a lot,\u201d Brown says. \u201cI think the problem is that you don\u2019t get clear direction or information around how to solve [infrastructure] problems when they arise.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown encountered similar situations in his own work. During the development of Armon\u00eda, a mixed-use project in West Dallas<\/a>, city maps appeared to show a sewer line reaching the property. The project team later discovered that the line was across the street, requiring them to tunnel beneath the road to connect to it.<\/p>\n When a new development requires extending or upgrading infrastructure, Brown says that it frequently falls on the developer. \u201cIt makes it difficult to anticipate a project\u2019s true cost before construction begins.\u201d<\/p>\n Challenges extended beyond infrastructure. Fellows says the site experienced repeated copper thefts, vandalism and even gunfire while the building was under construction, prompting additional partnership with the Dallas Police Department.<\/p>\n These incidents were not limited to the wellness center. Through Kingdom Legacy<\/a>, Fellows\u2019 South Dallas-based real estate company, she also owns an apartment complex around the corner at Meadow and South Boulevard, and operates the organization\u2019s headquarters further down the street. The properties are part of her broader effort to redevelop spaces along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard while preserving housing and creating community-serving places in South Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cI think development drives out darkness,\u201d Fellows says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to invest millions of dollars into a community, then you have more visibility. You have new people coming in, contractors, you have the City of Dallas now paying attention because they\u2019re investing in that particular area.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellows says police increased patrols around the project, and City officials worked alongside organizers throughout construction. By the time the center opened, she says, years of relationship-building with residents, neighborhood organizations and City partners had helped create an environment where the project could thrive.<\/p>\n Funding a \u2018community development\u2019 project<\/p>\n The building carries its own South Dallas history. Since 1990, the building had been home to the Dallas Weekly<\/a>, a frequent collaborator with Dallas Free Press. The late James A. Washington<\/a>, publisher of the Weekly from 1985 to 2018, sold the building to his wife, Janis L. Ware, publisher of The Atlanta Voice<\/a>, in 2004, and she sold it to Fellows in late 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the purchase, the setbacks Fellows encountered not only extended the project\u2019s original timeline but also increased its cost from an estimated $1.2 million to nearly $1.6 million.<\/p>\n Keeping the project alive required an uncommon mix of community investment, public financing and personal sacrifice, Fellows says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were initially completely self-funded from 11 different community members who put their capital together to believe in this project,\u201d she says. The group \u2014\u00a0including parents, retirees and nearby residents \u2014\u00a0committed the initial $180,000 needed to purchase the building in less than an hour.<\/p>\n For Fellows, that early support reflected a broader philosophy about who should benefit from neighborhood investment.<\/p>\n \u201cRarely does anyone ever get to actually become an owner and investor in development in their own community,\u201d says the South Boulevard\/Park Row<\/a> resident. \u201cThat was very important to me \u2026 to have what we call equitable development, where it\u2019s actually owned and supported by people from the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n The project later secured financing through Trinity Capital Bank<\/a>, along with a $350,000 City of Dallas loan and a $100,000 reimbursable grant<\/a> through the South Dallas\/Fair Park Opportunity Fund<\/a>. Fellows said those types of gap funding helped make the project financially feasible in an area where traditional financing can be difficult to obtain.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving that gap funding is what allows you to be able to secure outside funding,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Fellows also credits the City of Dallas\u2019 Office of Economic Development<\/a> for helping the project navigate years of setbacks, saying staff were \u201cvery supportive, engaging and understanding as we navigated these various challenges that could have stopped our project.<\/p>\n What it requires to be a \u2018community developer\u2019<\/p>\n Even with community investment and public support, the project\u2019s rising costs required additional personal investment.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I had such an intention and vision, I didn\u2019t give up, even though it felt like it would never happen,\u201d Fellows says. \u201cMy husband and I invested everything that we had personally into this project, so we\u2019re fully committed.\u201d<\/p>\n Maggie Parker of Innovan Neighborhoods<\/a> recognizes that commitment. She mentored Fellows and Brown as part of Innovan\u2019s inaugural Community Developers Roundtable<\/a> from September 2022 to May 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about building and developing in the southern sector, you kind of have to have a heart for it,\u201d Parker says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have more hurdles.\u201d<\/p>\n Deciding to develop in southern Dallas requires more than a project that makes financial sense. The return on investment, or ROI, can\u2019t just be profits. Parker says that in addition to partnerships with the City and Dallas County, she also looks to neighborhood plans to understand what residents say they want.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe more that a neighborhood has a community plan already, then that helps developers, too, to say, hey, this is what you already wanted,\u201d Parker says. \u201cSometimes the City initiates those, sometimes the neighborhoods initiate those.\u201d<\/p>\n Carrying out these plans can be difficult in areas that have decades of underinvestment and missing or poorly documented infrastructure. Brown says unexpected costs and delays can be especially consequential for community developers, who often lack the upfront capital available to larger firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNine times out of 10, we have one loan that has to do 10 different things, and they all have to line up perfectly,\u201d Brown says. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes it tricky. One delay can trigger a mountain of things.\u201d<\/p>\n MLK Wellness Center: Now open<\/p>\n Years after construction began, the focus has shifted from building the center to filling it with programs designed to improve health and expand opportunity in South Dallas.<\/p>\n The wellness center now houses Kingdom Caf\u00e9, G3 health club and Gifted Souls, a mental health nonprofit that provides addiction counseling, daily meals, and connections to housing and other community resources. This past summer, the Legacy Builders Youth Camp introduced children and teens to financial literacy, entrepreneurship, commercial real estate and careers they may not otherwise encounter.\u00a0<\/p>\n The center is opening among broader investment and redevelopment along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where longtime businesses<\/a> have endured for decades, new murals<\/a> celebrate South Dallas\u2019 black history and resilience, and nonprofit redevelopment efforts<\/a> are focused on housing and entrepreneurship. In parallel to that, nearby plans for the area around the MLK DART station<\/a> and the role of major landowners along the corridor<\/a> could shape what comes next.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those changes raise a question neighbors often ask when new investment comes to historic neighborhoods: Is this happening for us, or to us?\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside the wellness center, that question has shaped what services are offered. Earlier plans included Kingdom Sandwich Caf\u00e9 by Wendy Cross, and Kadosh Coffee Shop by Stephanie Sosa \u2014 two purpose-driven businesses that hoped to train and hire young people who had aged out of the foster care system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fellows says they were committed for a long time, but the long construction process, changing economy, and safety concerts around the site made the vision harder for them to hold onto. Sosa conducted market research, visiting multiple coffee shops. Many of them advised her not to open a coffee shop in South Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of naysayers telling them that it wouldn\u2019t work, that people in this community don\u2019t have money, and Black people don\u2019t drink coffee,\u201d Fellows says. \u201cI just had to continue to believe and encourage my business operators to believe even when outsiders look down upon this community.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, the original tenants moved on. But when Tia Ross, the owner of the new Kingdom Caf\u00e9, walked through the unfinished building, Fellows says Ross saw the potential, calling both the location and the layout of the site \u201cperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe just saw it with the eyes of a visionary. I didn\u2019t have to sell it to her,\u201d Fellows says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brown says the wellness center\u2019s completion symbolizes South Dallas\u2019 potential for additional investment that benefits and includes neighbors.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-Center-01-Dallas-Free-Press.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Jason-Brown_042426_DFP-1600x1067.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-5-1600x1067.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-7-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-7.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-2-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MLK-Wellness-Center.jpg\")
Dennis Nickelberry, custodian at the MLK Wellness Center, takes a break while summer camp students participate in activities at the center\u2019s gym July 1, 2026. Photo by Camilo Diaz Jr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ferrell Fellows stands outside the MLK Wellness Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Fellows is the founder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[155520,102,104,103,155521,155522,97772,155523,1884,13311],"class_list":["post-452449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-community-infrastructure","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-ferrell-fellows","tag-kingdom-cafe","tag-martin-luther-king-jr-boulevard","tag-mlk-wellness-center","tag-south-dallas","tag-zoning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}