diff --git a/.circleci/config-2_1.yml b/.circleci/config-2_1.yml
index d1b2e1a05c..04dec86f9c 100644
--- a/.circleci/config-2_1.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config-2_1.yml
@@ -856,7 +856,7 @@ commands:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant <<parameters.target>> -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=<<parameters.classlistprefix>>
+          ant <<parameters.target>> -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=<<parameters.classlistprefix>> -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: <<parameters.no_output_timeout>>
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -895,7 +895,7 @@ commands:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant <<parameters.target>> -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=<<parameters.classlistprefix>>
+          ant <<parameters.target>> -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=<<parameters.classlistprefix>> -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: <<parameters.no_output_timeout>>
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 10ee3ca134..30046af3ca 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1536,7 +1536,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1601,7 +1601,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1712,7 +1712,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2646,7 +2646,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2711,7 +2711,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2822,7 +2822,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml.HIGHRES b/.circleci/config.yml.HIGHRES
index b7238b6e50..2f1e95a979 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml.HIGHRES
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml.HIGHRES
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1536,7 +1536,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1601,7 +1601,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1712,7 +1712,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2646,7 +2646,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2711,7 +2711,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2822,7 +2822,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml.LOWRES b/.circleci/config.yml.LOWRES
index a83930e6cd..dbfc0855dd 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml.LOWRES
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml.LOWRES
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1536,7 +1536,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1601,7 +1601,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1712,7 +1712,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2646,7 +2646,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2711,7 +2711,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2822,7 +2822,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml.MIDRES b/.circleci/config.yml.MIDRES
index 2f89c5135c..bfee0a19e1 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml.MIDRES
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml.MIDRES
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1536,7 +1536,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-cdc -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1601,7 +1601,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant stress-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -1712,7 +1712,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2646,7 +2646,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed
+          ant testclasslist -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=distributed -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2711,7 +2711,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -d ~/dtest_jars ]; then
             cp ~/dtest_jars/dtest* /tmp/cassandra/build/
           fi
-          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant long-test -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
@@ -2822,7 +2822,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "$test_timeout" ]; then
             test_timeout=$(grep 'name="test.timeout"' build.xml | awk -F'"' '{print $4}')
           fi
-          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit
+          ant testclasslist-compression -Dtest.timeout="$test_timeout" -Dtest.classlistfile=/tmp/java_tests_${CIRCLE_NODE_INDEX}_final.txt  -Dtest.classlistprefix=unit -Dno-build-test=true
         no_output_timeout: 15m
     - store_test_results:
         path: /tmp/cassandra/build/test/output/
diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index b722e13074..c326f7992e 100644
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -782,7 +782,7 @@
         </copy>
     </target>
 
-    <target name="stress-test" depends="stress-build-test, build-test" description="Runs stress tests">
+    <target name="stress-test" depends="stress-build-test, maybe-build-test" description="Runs stress tests">
         <testmacro inputdir="${stress.test.src}"
                        timeout="${test.timeout}">
         </testmacro>
@@ -792,7 +792,7 @@
       ant stress-test-some -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.stress.settings.SettingsNodeTest
       ant stress-test-some -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.stress.settings.SettingsNodeTest -Dtest.methods=testDefaults
     -->
-    <target name="stress-test-some" depends="stress-build-test, build-test" description="Runs stress tests">
+    <target name="stress-test-some" depends="stress-build-test, maybe-build-test" description="Runs stress tests">
       <testmacro inputdir="${stress.test.src}"
                  timeout="${test.timeout}">
         <test unless:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" methods="${test.methods}" outfile="build/test/output/TEST-${test.name}-${test.methods}"/>
@@ -1088,7 +1088,23 @@
       </jar>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="build-test" depends="jar,stress-build" description="Compile test classes" unless="no-build-test">
+  <!-- Wrapper of build-test without dependencies, so both that target and its dependencies are skipped if the property
+    no-build-test is true. This is meant to be used to run tests without actually building them, provided that they have
+    been built before. All test targets depend on this, so one can run them using the no-build-test property.
+    For example:
+
+    ant test -Dno-build-test=true
+    ant test -Dtest.name=StorageServiceServerTest -Dno-build-test=true
+    ant testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.service.StorageServiceServerTest -Dno-build-test=true
+
+    The property is false by default, so if it's not specified the tests would be built with all their dependencies.
+    See CASSANDRA-16625 and CASSANDRA-18000 for further details.
+     -->
+  <target name="maybe-build-test" unless="no-build-test">
+    <antcall target="build-test"/>
+  </target>
+
+  <target name="build-test" depends="jar,stress-build" description="Compile test classes">
     <javac
      compiler="modern"
      debug="true"
@@ -1237,7 +1253,7 @@
     </sequential>
   </macrodef>
 
-  <target name="testold" depends="build-test" description="Execute unit tests">
+  <target name="testold" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute unit tests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}" timeout="${test.timeout}">
       <jvmarg value="-Dlegacy-sstable-root=${test.data}/legacy-sstables"/>
       <jvmarg value="-Dinvalid-legacy-sstable-root=${test.data}/invalid-legacy-sstables"/>
@@ -1324,7 +1340,7 @@
     ant testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.service.StorageServiceServerTest
     ant testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.service.StorageServiceServerTest -Dtest.methods=testRegularMode,testGetAllRangesEmpty
   -->
-  <target name="testsome" depends="build-test" description="Execute specific unit tests" >
+  <target name="testsome" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute specific unit tests" >
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}" timeout="${test.timeout}">
       <test unless:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" methods="${test.methods}" outfile="build/test/output/TEST-${test.name}-${test.methods}"/>
       <test if:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" outfile="build/test/output/TEST-${test.name}"/>
@@ -1341,7 +1357,7 @@
     ant long-testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.cql3.ManyRowsTest
     ant long-testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.cql3.ManyRowsTest -Dtest.methods=testLargeCount
   -->
-  <target name="long-testsome" depends="build-test" description="Execute specific long unit tests" >
+  <target name="long-testsome" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute specific long unit tests" >
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.long.src}" timeout="${test.long.timeout}">
       <test unless:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" methods="${test.methods}"/>
       <test if:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}"/>
@@ -1354,13 +1370,13 @@
     ant burn-testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.utils.memory.LongBufferPoolTest
     ant burn-testsome -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.utils.memory.LongBufferPoolTest -Dtest.methods=testAllocate
   -->
-  <target name="burn-testsome" depends="build-test" description="Execute specific burn unit tests" >
+  <target name="burn-testsome" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute specific burn unit tests" >
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.burn.src}" timeout="${test.burn.timeout}">
       <test unless:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" methods="${test.methods}"/>
       <test if:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}"/>
     </testmacro>
   </target>
-  <target name="test-compression" depends="build-test,stress-build" description="Execute unit tests with sstable compression enabled">
+  <target name="test-compression" depends="maybe-build-test,stress-build" description="Execute unit tests with sstable compression enabled">
     <path id="all-test-classes-path">
       <fileset dir="${test.unit.src}" includes="**/${test.name}.java" />
       <fileset dir="${test.distributed.src}" includes="**/${test.name}.java" />
@@ -1369,7 +1385,7 @@
     <testhelper testdelegate="testlist-compression" />
   </target>
 
-  <target name="test-cdc" depends="build-test" description="Execute unit tests with change-data-capture enabled">
+  <target name="test-cdc" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute unit tests with change-data-capture enabled">
     <path id="all-test-classes-path">
       <fileset dir="${test.unit.src}" includes="**/${test.name}.java" />
     </path>
@@ -1377,39 +1393,39 @@
     <testhelper testdelegate="testlist-cdc" />
   </target>
 
-  <target name="msg-ser-gen-test" depends="build-test" description="Generates message serializations">
+  <target name="msg-ser-gen-test" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Generates message serializations">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}"
         timeout="${test.timeout}" filter="**/SerializationsTest.java">
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.test-serialization-writes=True"/>
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="msg-ser-test" depends="build-test" description="Tests message serializations">
+  <target name="msg-ser-test" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Tests message serializations">
       <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}" timeout="${test.timeout}"
                filter="**/SerializationsTest.java"/>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="msg-ser-test-7" depends="build-test" description="Generates message serializations">
+  <target name="msg-ser-test-7" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Generates message serializations">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}"
         timeout="${test.timeout}" filter="**/SerializationsTest.java">
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.version=0.7"/>
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="msg-ser-test-10" depends="build-test" description="Tests message serializations on 1.0 messages">
+  <target name="msg-ser-test-10" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Tests message serializations on 1.0 messages">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.unit.src}"
         timeout="${test.timeout}" filter="**/SerializationsTest.java">
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.version=1.0"/>
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="test-burn" depends="build-test" description="Execute functional tests">
+  <target name="test-burn" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute functional tests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.burn.src}"
                timeout="${test.burn.timeout}">
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="long-test" depends="build-test" description="Execute functional tests">
+  <target name="long-test" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute functional tests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.long.src}"
                timeout="${test.long.timeout}">
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.ring_delay_ms=1000"/>
@@ -1417,7 +1433,7 @@
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="cql-test" depends="build-test" description="Execute CQL tests">
+  <target name="cql-test" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute CQL tests">
     <sequential>
       <echo message="running CQL tests"/>
       <mkdir dir="${build.test.dir}/cassandra"/>
@@ -1463,7 +1479,7 @@
       ant cql-test-some -Dtest.name=ListsTest
       ant cql-test-some -Dtest.name=ListsTest -Dtest.methods=testPrecisionTime_getNext_simple
     -->
-  <target name="cql-test-some" depends="build-test" description="Execute specific CQL tests" >
+  <target name="cql-test-some" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute specific CQL tests" >
     <sequential>
       <echo message="running ${test.methods} tests from ${test.name}"/>
       <mkdir dir="${build.test.dir}/cassandra"/>
@@ -1578,7 +1594,7 @@
     </sequential>
   </macrodef>
 
-  <target name="test" depends="eclipse-warnings,build-test" description="Test Runner">
+  <target name="test" depends="eclipse-warnings,maybe-build-test" description="Test Runner">
     <path id="all-test-classes-path">
       <fileset dir="${test.unit.src}" includes="**/${test.name}.java" excludes="**/distributed/test/UpgradeTest*.java" />
     </path>
@@ -1598,7 +1614,7 @@
   <!-- run a list of tests as provided in -Dtest.classlistfile (or default of 'testnames.txt')
   The class list file should be one test class per line, with the path starting after test/unit
   e.g. org/apache/cassandra/hints/HintMessageTest.java -->
-  <target name="testclasslist" depends="build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
+  <target name="testclasslist" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
     <path id="all-test-classes-path">
       <fileset dir="${test.dir}/${test.classlistprefix}" includesfile="${test.classlistfile}"/>
     </path>
@@ -1606,7 +1622,7 @@
     <testhelper testdelegate="testlist"/>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="testclasslist-compression" depends="build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
+  <target name="testclasslist-compression" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
       <path id="all-test-classes-path">
           <fileset dir="${test.dir}/${test.classlistprefix}" includesfile="${test.classlistfile}"/>
       </path>
@@ -1614,7 +1630,7 @@
       <testhelper testdelegate="testlist-compression"/>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="testclasslist-cdc" depends="build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
+  <target name="testclasslist-cdc" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Run tests given in file -Dtest.classlistfile (one-class-per-line, e.g. org/apache/cassandra/db/SomeTest.java)">
       <path id="all-test-classes-path">
           <fileset dir="${test.dir}/${test.classlistprefix}" includesfile="${test.classlistfile}"/>
       </path>
@@ -1632,7 +1648,7 @@
       </jar>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="test-jvm-dtest" depends="build-test" description="Execute in-jvm dtests">
+  <target name="test-jvm-dtest" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute in-jvm dtests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.distributed.src}" timeout="${test.distributed.timeout}" forkmode="once" showoutput="true" filter="**/test/*Test.java">
       <jvmarg value="-Dlogback.configurationFile=test/conf/logback-dtest.xml"/>
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.ring_delay_ms=10000"/>
@@ -1641,7 +1657,7 @@
     </testmacro>
   </target>
 
-  <target name="test-jvm-upgrade-dtest" depends="build-test" description="Execute in-jvm dtests">
+  <target name="test-jvm-upgrade-dtest" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute in-jvm dtests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.distributed.src}" timeout="${test.distributed.timeout}" forkmode="once" showoutput="true" filter="**/upgrade/*Test.java">
       <jvmarg value="-Dlogback.configurationFile=test/conf/logback-dtest.xml"/>
       <jvmarg value="-Dcassandra.ring_delay_ms=10000"/>
@@ -1655,7 +1671,7 @@
       ant test-jvm-dtest-some -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.distributed.test.ResourceLeakTest
       ant test-jvm-dtest-some -Dtest.name=org.apache.cassandra.distributed.test.ResourceLeakTest -Dtest.methods=looperTest
     -->
-  <target name="test-jvm-dtest-some" depends="build-test" description="Execute some in-jvm dtests">
+  <target name="test-jvm-dtest-some" depends="maybe-build-test" description="Execute some in-jvm dtests">
     <testmacro inputdir="${test.distributed.src}" timeout="${test.distributed.timeout}" forkmode="once" showoutput="true">
       <test unless:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" methods="${test.methods}" outfile="build/test/output/TEST-${test.name}-${test.methods}"/>
       <test if:blank="${test.methods}" name="${test.name}" outfile="build/test/output/TEST-${test.name}"/>
@@ -1698,7 +1714,7 @@
   <!-- run arbitrary mains in tests, for example to run the long running memory tests with lots of memory pressure
       ant run-main -Dmainclass=org.apache.cassandra.utils.memory.LongBufferPoolTest -Dvmargs="-Xmx30m -XX:-UseGCOverheadLimit"
   -->
-  <target name="run-main" depends="build-test">
+  <target name="run-main" depends="maybe-build-test">
       <property name="mainclass" value="" />
       <property name="vmargs" value="" />
       <property name="args" value="" />