Here a park, there a park.

Eventually, Mesa del Sol will include thousands of acres of park space. And an extensive network of trails will make it a pleasure to get around the community on foot or bike.

In the context of our first neighborhood, which is just over 200 homes, there will be about ten neighborhood parks. We're not talking huge parks. The largest, located in the middle of the neighborhood, is about 1.5 acres. Most homes will be a block or two from a park and about a third of the homes in this first neighborhood overlook a park. And just to the south, a long park — with our first swimming pool, no less — will stretch the length of the neighborhood.

Heading to the park or pool with the kids will be no big deal. Just grab the sunscreen and hit the door. And if you're one of the lucky people with a home that faces a park, it will be like having a huge front yard that you don't have to mow.

Nature in your backyard.

There's something about being up on this mesa. The sky seems bigger. The mountains closer. It's enough to make you forget you're only 15 minutes from downtown Albuquerque. This sense of connection to the land is something we want to maintain in Mesa del Sol.

Among the 3,200 acres that we're setting aside for parks and open space, a large portion will be left natural. A network of large, open space corridors will frame the region's most prized landmarks: Sandia Crest, South Sandia Peak, Mosca Peak, Ladron Mountain and Mount Taylor.