Developers are hatching a plan to turn a vacant chicken plant south of downtown into a centerpiece for an entire new neighborhood.

Mike Hoque's vision for the project south of Interstate 30 includes apartments, retail, office and townhomes across the freeway from downtown Dallas' Farmers Market.

Hoque is calling the project SoGood @ Cedars — a take on the property's close-in location along South Good-Latimer Expressway.

"It's all about building a community," said Hoque, who's invested heavily in downtown real estate and runs several successful restaurants in Dallas' core. "We want to connect that area with the Farmers Market.

"I think there is going to be a lot of opportunity on the south side."

Hoque's real estate plays in Dallas are all about the southern quadrant of downtown.

Starting several years ago, he bought up blocks of parking lots and old buildings south of City Hall along Canton and Cadiz streets. He partnered with one of Dallas' biggest developers, KDC, to design a mixed-use development on the land.

Last year, when digital retail giant Amazon came to town looking for a potential office campus site, the Seattle-based firm zeroed in on Hoque and KDC's south side property.

Hoque Global and KDC are still working to attract a major office employer to the site.

Heading south

Two years ago, Hoque headed farther south from downtown to the edge of the Cedars district.

He bought the 15-acre former Pilgrim's Pride chicken plant on Cesar Chavez Boulevard, which closed in 2011.

The SoGood development is south of Interstate 30 between Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Good-Latimer Expressway. (Hoque Global / TBG)

"Pilgrim had 1,200 people working down there when it closed," Hoque said. "When we acquired the land, we wanted to see what we could do to have the biggest impact on the neighborhood."

His idea for the defunct poultry plant is to connect the property to downtown with a long, linear park that would run between Good-Latimer and Cesar Chavez along an abandoned rail line.

Two old pedestrian and rail bridges across I-30 will link the SoGood development site with the booming Farmers Market.

"From the Farmers Market to the project is a five-minute walk," Hoque said. "I believe if you create that linear park, people will walk from the Farmers Market there."

Hoque Global has also bought a vacant tract at the corner of Cesar Chavez and I-30 to create an entry to the SoGood development. "That's the gateway," he said.

SoGood will include a combination of renovated buildings and new construction.

The vacant former Pilgrim's Pride plant is seen from the 2400 block of South Good Latimer Expressway just south of downtown Dallas. (Ryan Michalesko/The Dallas Morning News) (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

"On the first phase, we are repurposing three of the old buildings and doing one apartment ground up," Hoque said. "We are going to create a retail component for artists and entrepreneurs who are getting pushed out of Deep Ellum and the Design District.

"We want to do a truck yard kind of project — an entertainment and food venue to give back to the community."

Townhouses and other developments are also in the works.

Design firm TBG Partners did the landscape planning for the project.

Hoque has already been meeting with other property owners and neighborhood representatives in the Cedars district.

"We took a lot of time to get the neighbors on board," he said. "We are new in the area and want to make sure we are helping them.

"They have been waiting for something to happen there for a long long time," Hoque said. "Everyone understands that this can be a catalyst project."

Ideas from afar

Hoque has looked at redeveloping areas in downtown Denver, Brooklyn and Miami for inspiration.

He's working with city planners and with Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which owns the unused rail right-of-way, to plan the project.

The Cedars area across the freeway canyon from downtown is already seeing widespread townhouse construction and renovation of old buildings for commercial, retail and residential uses.

"Thousands of new residents will come to that area if we are successful," Hoque said.

The vacant Pilgrim's Pride plant (left) is seen from the 2400 block of South Good Latimer Expressway just south of downtown Dallas on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)