Denton ISD sets aside 12 acres in Landmark for the development's first elementary school

Denton ISD has secured land for an elementary school inside Landmark, the 3,200-acre Hillwood development taking shape in southwest Denton, the Cross Timbers Gazette reported Monday.

The campus would sit on a 12-acre tract that the district acquired through its voter-approved 2023 bond program and is holding for future school use. No construction schedule or opening date was announced.

Hillwood, Landmark's developer, said the elementary is the first of three Denton ISD campuses planned within the project. The district said it will watch enrollment and building capacity before deciding whether more schools are needed there.

A town-sized neighborhood

Landmark's plans call for about 6,000 single-family homes and 3,000 apartments or townhomes, along with 900 acres set aside for business uses and 1,100 acres of parks and open space. Hillwood has said the community could eventually be home to roughly one in every 10 Denton residents.

Children who live in Landmark now are assigned to E.P. Rayzor Elementary and Harpool Middle School in Lantana and to Denton Guyer High School.

"Planning for future schools begins long before classrooms are built," Superintendent Susannah O'Bara said, adding that owning the site gives the district room to plan and that it will work with the community on what a future campus should include.

Andrew Pieper, a Hillwood Communities senior vice president who manages the residential side of Landmark, said lining up school sites with the district is meant to make sure the area can serve the families moving in. Kimberly Cole, who oversees Landmark's commercial development for Hillwood Properties, called the school site part of coordinating homes, schools, retail and amenities as the project grows.

Sources

Cross Timbers Gazette