Montage at Mesa del Sol in Albuquerque, NM

Montage is a D.R. Horton neighborhood inside Mesa del Sol, the master-planned development on Albuquerque's south mesa, roughly six miles southeast of downtown and bounded by Interstate 25 on the west and Kirtland Air Force Base to the north and east. Streets here are new, and residents share the pool, landscaped parks and walking trails of the wider development, along with a lifestyle and fitness center, a dog park and a playground. One- and two-story plans fill the blocks. The Sunport, Sandia National Laboratories and the Netflix studio campus all sit within a short drive.

An association governs the neighborhood, and because Montage sits inside the larger plan, the dues reach the shared pool, clubhouse and common grounds rather than just the block out front.

The way Mesa del Sol paid for its streets and utilities is unusual for the city. Albuquerque's council established five public improvement districts across the development in 2008; those districts levy assessments on the land they cover to fund public infrastructure, and District No. 1 is the only one built out so far. The charge arrives with the property tax bill.

The ground has been a long project. Forest City Enterprises won the development rights in 2002 and broke ground in 2005, though houses did not start going up until 2011. The Aperture Center, an Antoine Predock design that opened in 2008, remains the village center, with shops and restaurants below offices.

School assignments run back toward the older city rather than the mesa: Bandelier Elementary, Jefferson Middle and Albuquerque High, each a drive of several miles north. Interstate 25 and Interstate 40 carry most trips out of the neighborhood.