MUSTANG, Texas — If you drive roughly 60 miles south of Dallas on I-45, you’ll hit Exit 225.
Take that exit - and you'll find yourself in the tiny town of Mustang.
“Mustang, Texas was referred to as an adult Texas town because of the past history,” Mike Turner, president of the Dallas-based real estate firm, J. Elmer Turner, said.
One of Turner’s clients is a man named Marty Price, “a sole practitioner attorney with a great sense of humor,” according to Turner. And that’s who Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban bought the town of Mustang from.
“I know of only one potential resident: And that would be the resident alligator. We’ve seen the tracks in the mud there,” Turner said. “But no humans on site at present.”
Turner said Price was a huge Mavs fan, who had season tickets behind the visitor’s bench “so he could provide proper heckling to the opposing team.”
Sadly, Price passed away in August.
“It was natural, I think, for (Price) to communicate his desire to sell and liquidate this property to Mr. Cuban,” Turner said. “Mavs and mustangs: Those are related. We were happy to see it go into the proper steward’s hands.”
Cuban is reported as saying he bought the 76-acre town from a friend.
“It says that Mark has a big heart. He’s a great guy. And he’s always on the lookout to help his friends no matter who they are,” Turner said.
It’s unclear what Cuban’s plans are for the town that Turner told WFAA was initially put up for sale in 2017 for $4 million. The price was later cut in half, according to Turner.
Two buildings – including the former adult entertainment venue – currently sit locked and vacant.
Turner said the town also includes a volunteer fire department and a vacant mobile home park.
“So I look forward to seeing how he develops it,” Turner said. “I know he’s in no rush and we’ll just wait and see.”
Word of Cuban’s purchase did spread quickly. Near the Mustang-Corsicana town border sits Angelita Vineyard and Winery.
“I was like, wow that’s pretty cool,” winery owner Beverly Spahn said laughing. “Wonder what he’s going to do with the town. I hope he does some kind of business here that will bring more attention to the city of Corsicana, which would only help with my business.”
The small business owner said times have been tough thanks to the pandemic and the February winter storm that damaged many of her crops.
She’s hoping the Mavs owner has a game plan for the town of Mustang that’s a win-win for everyone.
“It’s been sitting empty for a while and glad to see that somebody might be doing something with it and bringing more business to the area,” Spahn said.