By 2013, the company had sold the first home of the master-planned community Harvest, and now, the 1,200 acres along I-35W and FM 407 is nearly built out. Around 3,260 homes have been sold, but around 2,900 of those are closed, meaning families are living in them, said Diana Carroll, marketing director for Hillwood.
“Harvest is a community that is near and dear to all of our hearts,” Carroll said.
Harvest offers amenities from parks to fresh local produce, a concept born at the community’s inception and from where it draws its namesake. It mirrors that small farm-town feel Argyle residents have come to expect, Mayor Rick Bradford said.
The backstory
Harvest was one of the first “aggrihoods” in Texas, which is a community that contains a working commercial farm, Carroll said. The on-site farmer offers classes to homeowners, teaching them to grow their own vegetables and herbs.
“Homeowners can then rent their own garden area around the greenhouse, and the farmer will help them grow whatever they are learning, whether that's wildflowers or watermelons,” she said.
On specified picking days, residents can head to the orchards and pluck fruit from the apple, pear and plum trees. Harvest’s commercial farmer is also part of a community-supported agriculture group, which works with local farmers to pull together vegetables and fruit to deliver to residents door to door through an optional subscription service, Carroll said.
“The land had already been a working family farm for generations, so the roots were there; the soil was really good,” Carroll said.
Also of note
When planning large communities such as Harvest, Hillwood tries to be thoughtful when parceling land for development, Carroll said. It ensures a diverse mix of open spaces, trails and parks to break up spates of houses and avoids lines of homes where neighbors are nose to nose, she added. Fishing docks, dog parks, soccer fields, greenhouses, community pools and over 20 other amenities are included in the Harvest development.
“We plan parks; we plant trees; we run trails; we have open space; we create lakes—we're really planning,” she said.
One of the community’s newest parks, which won a Dallas Builders Association award in April, is a tiny Western-style town dubbed the “mini town park.” Kids can run through and play shop at a miniature general store, break out of a faux jail or play pretend barista at the replica Harvest coffee house.
Looking ahead
Hillwood has more parks in the works, including one designed with art easels and natural wildflowers that attract pollinators, Carroll said. Residents can then sit and paint butterflies and bees as they frequent the flowers. More amenities could follow in the coming years as Hillwood eyes all homes being sold by 2027, Carroll added.
In February, the community had about 15 lots sized between 1 acre to 3 acres available, and has since sold all but seven, Carroll said. There is one more section in the upper northeast quadrant yet to be developed that is entering the design phase.
“We don’t know yet what product is going to be on that, but we are working very hard to meet the needs of people who don’t need a big home, so they are probably going to be a smaller size,” she said.
Home prices range between $300,000 and $900,000. By the time the community is built out, it could be valued at nearly $2 billion, according to company data.
Denton County just exceeded 1 million residents earlier this year, Bradford said, and Harvest has helped drive that growth.
“People who come to Argyle and love it but don't necessarily want 5 acres of land are able to get into Argyle schools, have that small-town, country feel around them, and I think it does drive a lot of interest,” he said.
