Hillwood Sets Plans for Landmark in Denton

One of Dallas’ biggest real estate players is planning a fittingly huge project in Denton.

Hillwood, the development arm of Perot Companies, finalized plans for Landmark, which would be one of the biggest developments in North Texas, the Dallas Morning News reports. The plan entails 6,000 houses, 3,000 apartments and around 5 million square feet of commercial space.

Landmark would sit on a 3,200-acre parcel along Interstate 35 West that the Perot family purchased back in 1987, when it was called Hunter’s Ranch and best known for Pilot Knob, a 900-foot-high rock outcropping.

Hillwood, run by Ross Perot Jr., has developed other large-scale projets in the area. One of the largest, AllianceTexas, is an industrial and logistics hub that serves as a lynchpin of Fort Worth’s economy. It lies on 27,000 acres next to the old Hunter’s Ranch site.

Landmark is Hillwood’s first large project with both residential and commercial development. The Perot family purportedly considered the land as an eventual gateway to the Alliance Development for decades but only began to move on the project in earnest in 2018, after Hillwood had seen success on smaller-scale mixed-use developments under its Communities division, including Harvest in Argyle, Northlake Pecan Square and the Treeline project nearing completion in Justin.

Entitlements have been secured for the Landmark, which has been granted status as an improvement district, which will help pay for infrastructure.

“This is the next big mixed-use node on the I-35 corridor, said Kim Cole, vice president at Hillwood Properties and commercial project manager for Landmark. “We see it as the next big launch for us.”

The plan calls for Hillwood to design the development around a “green ecosystem” that covers 1,100 acres and includes natural features such as Pilot Knob, which figures into history as a one-time observation and signal site for the Caddo Indian tribe, Spanish explorers and American pioneers and outlaws. Sam Bass once hid there, according to local legend.

“I think we have to try, sometimes too hard in Texas, to create [really cool spaces],” Cole said. “At Landmark, you’re just going to walk out and experience that space.”

Hillwood has begun commercial planning and leasing; the developer plans to have model homes open in the first half of 2026.

— Jerry Sullivan