Hillwood Communities Plans 6,000-Home Development Near Denton — While Protecting Pilot Knob

Go south of Denton on Interstate 35W and turn west on Robson Ranch Road. Go about 75 yards and the sign on the white metal fence reads Hunter Ranch. It’s sparse with lots of pasture land and a wooded area around the landmark Pilot Knob.

But give it about a year or so.

Hillwood Communities is planning to develop the 3,200-acre Hunter Ranch with 6,000 houses. It’s in a prime area — near Denton and just west of Argyle — for a master-planned, mixed-use project.

Dallas-based Hillwood Communities already has a big footprint in the area. Hillwood has developed more than 40,000 homes with about a third of its construction along I-35W near Alliance Airport.

“We command about 50% of the home sales and starts in that corridor,” Hillwood Communities president Fred Balda told The Dallas Morning News. “Hunter Ranch is our next stop.”

The property includes Pilot Knob, a 900-foot-high protrusion that is one of the highest points in north-central Texas. It was used as a lookout station or signal point by members of the Caddo Indian confederacy, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

Pilot Knob also was used by Spanish and American pioneers and later by the Texas Rangers. At one time, Sam Bass used it as a hideout.

Balda said Hillwood plans to protect the landmark.

“We are preserving all those knobs with conservation easements,” Balda said. “About 1,000 acres is going to be left open because of the knobs and the drainage features.”

The project will have about 3,000-plus multifamily units, about 4 million square feet of commercial construction along I-35, and about 1 million square feet of retail, Balda said.

The first homes should be for sale in early 2024, Balda said.