Built for the long run — and the long relationship
In the rolling North Texas prairie just north of historic downtown Celina, something big is taking shape: Ramble by Hillwood, the latest master-planned community from one of Texas’s most celebrated residential developers, is coming to life on 1,380 acres in fast-growing Collin County. With plans for approximately 4,200 homes, 30 miles of trails, and nearly 220 acres of parks and natural spaces, Ramble represents Hillwood Communities at its best: ambitious in vision, intentional in design, and deeply committed to the human experience of home.
For APR, Ramble is more than a new project. It’s the latest chapter in a long-running partnership with Hillwood Communities, one built on shared values, mutual trust, and a track record of communities that hold their character over time.
A Developer With a Reputation to Protect
Hillwood Communities, the master-planned community division of Ross Perot Jr.’s Dallas-based real estate enterprise, has spent more than 30 years building communities that consistently raise the bar. Their portfolio across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex is a study in what thoughtful placemaking looks like when it’s done right: communities where the lifestyle is as considered as the architecture, and where a strong sense of place is engineered from the very beginning.
Harvest, the award-winning agrihood community in Argyle and Northlake, has become one of the DFW’s most beloved master-planned communities. Anchored by a working commercial farm, an original farmhouse-turned-coffee shop, and a lifestyle program that brings neighbors together hundreds of times a year, Harvest is a perennial best-seller. Pecan Square in Northlake, inspired by the traditions of small-town Texas, won the 2021 People’s Choice Community of the Year and the 2025 NAHB Gold Award for Master-Planned Community of the Year. It’s a community that preserved over 200 heritage pecan trees on the site, honored the history of the land’s original equestrian families, and built a gathering place — The Town Square — worthy of the name.
Harvest by Hillwood
APR has been part of both of those stories. And now, with Ramble, we’re proud to be part of the next one.
MEET MARK MEYER
If you want to understand what makes a Hillwood community feel the way it does — the way a trail seems to connect naturally to a park, the way a neighborhood gathers around a central space without being told to, the way a streetscape feels cohesive even with a dozen builders involved — you’d do well to spend some time with Mark Meyer.
Mark serves as Senior Vice President of Planning & Innovation at Hillwood Communities, and his background is as deep as it is broad. A Texas A&M-trained landscape architect with more than two decades of professional experience, Mark previously served as a Principal at TBG Partners before bringing his expertise in-house to Hillwood. Over the course of his career, he has helped shape some of the most successful and recognized master-planned communities in the nation.
Mark Meyer
Mark is an accredited member of the National Charrette Institute, a member of the Urban Land Institute, a participant in the national Community Development Council, and a member of the Urban Design Review Panel for the City of Dallas. He is deeply invested in the future of urbanism, walkability, and sustainable placemaking — and it shows in every Hillwood community his fingerprints touch.
His philosophy is rooted in the belief that great communities don’t happen by accident. They happen when people with the right expertise, the right values, and the right partners show up consistently, from the first planning charrette to the final inspection.
“Great communities are built on great standards — and great standards require great partners. APR brings the expertise, the systems, and the consistent follow-through that Hillwood communities demand. When homebuyers choose a Hillwood community, they’re trusting us to deliver something exceptional. APR helps us keep that promise, every submittal, every phase, every community.”
— Mark Meyer, Senior Vice President of Planning & Innovation, Hillwood Communities
What Ramble is Building
Ramble by Hillwood is located in Celina, Texas, about two miles north of historic downtown along North Preston Road in Collin County. It sits in one of the fastest-growing corridors in North Texas, and it’s designed to be worthy of that momentum.
The community concept is built around a simple but powerful idea: that a neighborhood should feel like a park rather than the other way around. Nearly 220 acres of parks and nature, 28 acres of recreational lakes, a seven-mile Ramble Trailway that runs east to west through the entire community, and about 30 additional miles of trails and pathways give residents a daily invitation to slow down, get outside, and connect with the world around them.
West Lake, Ramble’s first village and signature lake, sets the tone for what’s to come. Turtle Club — a National Parks-inspired amenity center featuring a pool, fitness center, event space, and fishing pond — serves as an early hub of community life. The Ramble Coffee House, a hybrid coffee shop, maker studio, and welcome center, gives residents a destination from day one. Two future Celina ISD elementary schools are planned on-site, reinforcing Hillwood’s long-standing belief that great schools are as important as great amenities.
At full buildout, Ramble will encompass approximately 4,200 homes. Builders in the first phase include American Legend Homes, Coventry Homes, Drees Custom Homes, Highland Homes, and Perry Homes. Homes range from $400,000 to $1 million.
At Ramble, APR’s role spans the full scope of architectural control: help developing the design guidelines that define what Ramble looks and feels like, reviewing builder plan submittals for compliance, coordinating with Hillwood’s team on complex or precedent-setting decisions, and supporting the inspection process that ensures what gets built matches what was approved. APRTrac, our proprietary platform, gives Hillwood, builders, and APR’s review team a shared, real-time view of every submittal — from initial intake through final approval — keeping the process efficient and the standards consistent.
“The architectural review process is one of the most important tools we have for protecting the long-term value and character of a community. APR understands that. They don’t just process submittals — they’re invested in the outcome. That makes all the difference when you’re building a community of this scale and ambition.”
— Mark Meyer
A partnership built to last
What makes the APR-Hillwood relationship distinctive is the depth of alignment between our teams. Mark Meyer and the Hillwood planning team bring a level of rigor to community design that demands a review partner who can match it. The guidelines aren’t guidelines for the sake of guidelines. They’re an expression of a community vision, and the review process is how that vision stays intact.
From the agricultural heritage of Harvest, to the small-town Texas character of Pecan Square, to the nature-first philosophy of Ramble, each community has its own identity — and APR’s role is to protect and reinforce that identity, submittal by submittal, throughout the life of the development.
Pecan Square by Hillwood
“Ramble is everything we’ve learned about how to build a great community, brought together in one place. Having APR as our review partner means we can execute at the level our residents expect and our reputation demands.”
— Mark Meyer
As Ramble takes shape in Celina and the first residents begin to make it home, we’re proud to be the partner Hillwood trusts to help get the details right.
For more information about Ramble by Hillwood, visit https://www.ramblebyhillwood.com/.