If you blink, you might miss the street sign for the tree-lined country road south of Denton.

Two-lane Hilltop Road leads you past mostly modest houses, small farms and rural businesses along the border of the town of Argyle.

Tucked away among the trees and stock ponds, construction is underway on one of the most hush-hush developments in North Texas.

International auto giant Toyota is turning a patch of farmland into a multimillion-dollar, ranch-style executive retreat for its top local executives and visiting VIPs.

The spread covering more than 75 acres — which extends all the way to FM1830 — includes a motor track, horse stables, guest houses and barns.

Toyota officials have told neighbors that there also will be a private car museum, Japanese gardens and fishing ponds where company top brass and guests can unwind.

Construction continues on several large buildings on the property, which Denton County's tax office so far values at over $11 million.

Toyota Motor North America bought the largest piece of the property in 2014, not long after the Japan-based automaker announced that it was moving its U.S. headquarters from Southern California to Plano.

Almost 5,000 Toyota workers will be housed in the 100-acre headquarters complex on State Highway 121 and Legacy Drive. And hundreds more Toyota executives and workers will travel to North Texas every year from outside the state and internationally.

Some of those visitors will be making a stop at Toyota's ranch retreat near Argyle.

1 / 3You can still find old photos of the Denton County estate when it was listed for sale in 2014.(Trulia) 2 / 3You can still find old photos of the Denton County estate when it was listed for sale in 2014.(Trulia) 3 / 3You can still find old photos of the Denton County estate when it was listed for sale in 2014.(Trulia)

"We have facilities like this all over the world," said Toyota spokesman Aaron Fowles. "It's not going to be a ranch we have constant events at. We will have people that live on the property and take care of it."

Fowles said Toyota hasn't wanted to attract attention to the Argyle ranch, which won't be open to the public.

There are no signs at the property entrances to indicate that one of the world's biggest corporations has homesteaded this piece of Denton County.

Toyota officials have said they picked the property because of its proximity to both DFW International Airport and the company's new North American headquarters in Plano.

Construction on the performance track and buildings is scheduled to wrap up later this year.

Toyota is "building a brand-new house and a bunch of other work on the site," Fowles said. "Most of the residents in the area are happy it's going to be there."

Neighbors say they'd rather see Toyota's executive retreat than more of the high-density home subdivisions that are popping up in that part of the county.

"I'd rather have that than 300 homes," said Jim Mueller, who owns Hilltop Kennels just east of the ranch. "We live right across the street from it and there was a big hullabaloo when it was proposed.

"People were worried about the noise but I haven't heard much. We don't even know it's there."

Mueller said Toyota officials met with nearby residents before they started construction.

"It was surprising and some people freaked out," he said. "But they've been good neighbors and try and minimize the impact."

Mueller said the previous owner of the property, a Dallas investor and financier, built the main house at the Toyota estate.

Old real estate listings from when the property was for sale in 2014 show a seven-bedroom, 10-bath home with more than 12,000 square feet.

The Tudor-style mansion has large indoor entertaining areas, a movie theater, an elaborate wine cellar and a resort-style swimming pool.

Most of the acreage was in agricultural uses or wooded.

"It was just a farm — there are a lot of them out here," said neighbor Ira Wyse, who lives on FM1830. "They are right beside me — 10 feet away from my place.

"There's almost never anybody over there. They've run some cars a couple of times I've seen on the track. They built a perimeter fence for privacy."

Matt Jones of Argyle's economic development department said Toyota's rural estate lies just outside the town's city limits.

"Argyle has a lot of large equestrian estates and we are trying to preserve those," Jones said. "I get phone calls wondering what is being built there. People want to know what the racetrack is."

While huge residential developments are underway in the area — including the Lantana and Robson Ranch communities — Jones said only about 50 new homes received building permits in Argyle last year.

"Certainly we are seeing a lot of growth just outside the town limits," he said. "It sounds like a very nice project Toyota is putting together over there.

"Having them in Plano is great for the entire region."

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