BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Demetrius Jenkins, owner of CP Danner Construction, said in spite of the up and down nature of the real estate industry, since he started his company 8 years ago, business has really grown.

Jenkins attended King High School and Hillsborough Community College, where he played basketball. He also helped his late mother, Carol Danner, and his grandmother at Carol’s Diner on 29th Street.

Jenkins said he always wanted to be his own boss.

“I never considered getting into the restaurant business, although that’s what my mother and grandmother did. I knew that a lot of successful people began with real estate, so that’s what I decided to get into.

“Now, I own a lot of properties in East Tampa, and I have developed some of them, including the construction of three homes.”

Jenkins said he built his own home, and is fortunate to have made great decisions in the real estate business.

“Since getting into real estate and opening my own company, I’ve gotten great feedback, and I work very hard to make sure my product is quality, because more is always expected from Black business owners.

“The market is very competitive now, and it doesn’t help that we don’t have a lot of Black-owned construction or roofing companies.”

Jenkins said he recently sold his family’s restaurant to First Baptist Church of College Hill, and they are using it as a Youth Center. “What I’d really like to do is to do more to help our young people, especially the males. I’d love to be a mentor.

“I have a son who has overcome a lot to now be a pretty good football player at the University of South Florida. I also participate in the Great American Teach-In every year.”

Jenkins said he has personally designed some of his projects, and has a staff of 8 people with his company. He also said when he uses sub-contractors on his projects, he tries to always use African American owned companies.