Hillwood and Old Prosper Partners Plan 9,000-plus Homes

4 February 2026

Two massive master-planned communities are moving closer to reality in Denton County, representing billions of dollars in long-term investment and a significant new demand load for infrastructure, schools and public services.

Dallas-based Hillwood and Prosper-based Old Prosper Partners are advancing separate projects that together would include more than 9,000 single-family homes and upward of 3,000 apartments and townhomes, according to the Dallas Business Journal.

Hillwood’s project, dubbed Lantern, would rise on 617 acres just outside Pilot Point, along FM 1385 between Friendship Road and FM 455. Denton County commissioners last week approved a tax increment reinvestment zone agreement for the community, clearing a key hurdle for the Ross Perot Jr.-founded firm.

Plans call for more than 2,000 homes on a mix of 40-foot to 70-foot lots, with projected prices ranging from $350,000 to $600,000. The development would also include a 15-acre Pilot Point ISD elementary school site, 27 acres of mixed-use space and more than 100 acres of open space, plus trails, parks and amenity centers. Hillwood estimates Lantern could be worth $1.2 billion at buildout.

Under the TIRZ agreement, 50 percent of ad valorem taxes generated by the property would be reinvested for 25 years to help fund roads, water, sewer and drainage. The outlet reported that Hillwood executives acknowledged the project’s strain on county services, but argued the incentive is critical to feasibility, particularly before annexation into Pilot Point, which approved a development agreement last fall.

Farther east, Old Prosper Partners locked up an even bigger assemblage. The firm closed Jan. 30 on the 2,870-acre Craver Ranch near Denton, setting the stage for what city officials have pegged as a $5.1 billion, 17-year buildout.

Plans call for 7,091 homes, 584 townhomes and 1,515 apartments, along with 1.2 million square feet of commercial space and three schools. A defining feature is its built-in open space, which includes about 380 acres of parks, including a 358-acre central park and more than 30 miles of trails and shared paths. Construction is expected to begin in 2028 and stretch into the mid-2040s.

Denton has already annexed the land and approved rezoning, along with the creation of a municipal management district that allows infrastructure costs to be financed through future assessments and bond reimbursements.

— Eric Weilbacher