Four Hills Village in Albuquerque, NM

Four Hills Village occupies the southeastern corner of Albuquerque, below Interstate 40 and east of Kirtland Air Force Base, where the ground starts climbing toward Tijeras Canyon and the Manzano foothills. The Four Hills Development Corporation platted it in numbered installments beginning in 1959, with W.D. Brannin driving the project and the adjoining Four Hills Country Club opening its eighteen-hole course the same year. Lots were drawn large, roughly three-quarters of an acre to two and a half. Covenants and architectural review run through a voluntary neighborhood association rather than a mandatory homeowners association, and open space along the Tijeras Arroyo begins just past the eastern edge.

The first installment held 118 residential lots, and later units followed the same pattern of numbered filings that still turn up in plat names. Early houses ran three to five bedrooms. Access came by way of a paved street off the old Western Skies frontage and a bridge thrown across the arroyo.

The Four Hills Village Neighborhood Association is voluntary. It keeps bylaws, standing rules and a written policy covering covenants and architectural control, so exterior work is reviewed even though membership is not compulsory.

Interstate 40 is the quick route west into the rest of the city, and two Park and Ride stops serve the area. Walking and cycling trails thread the surrounding foothills, with the Cibola National Forest close by. Area schools are Apache Elementary, Grant Middle School and Manzano High School.