APARTMENTS IN NORTHEAST ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
Rooted in the desert. Designed to belong.
Studio to three-bedroom apartment homes in Northeast Albuquerque, with the Sandias on the skyline. The whole property is being rebuilt to suit the desert it sits in - lawn replaced with native planting that lives on Albuquerque rainfall, solar panels going up on the roofs, and renovated homes inside.
THE RENOVATION
See where Desertscapes is headed.
Every building is being repainted with desert-hill murals by a local Albuquerque artist, and the grounds are being replanted from the ground up. Here is what is finished so far and what is coming.
Photographs of work finished so far, alongside concept renderings of what is coming. Renderings are design concepts and the finished result may vary. Renovations are phased across the community.
PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY
A landscape worth naming homes after.
The entire property is being relandscaped with plants native and adapted to Albuquerque, from desert willow and agave to red yucca and ocotillo. Every plant below is named in the signed landscape contract, and four of them give our floor plans their names. New gathering spaces are part of the same work - fire pit patios, a pergola, grilling stations, a dog park, a cornhole court and bistro-lit walkways. Improvements are underway; contact our leasing team for current information.
Trees
Desert Willow
FLOOR PLAN NAME
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
A true New Mexico native, found wild along desert washes across the Southwest. Not a willow at all - it throws trumpet flowers all summer that hummingbirds work over, and once its roots are down it wants almost nothing from a hose.
Chinese Pistache
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From China, and one of the few trees that gives Albuquerque dependable autumn colour. It shrugs off alkaline soil, reflected heat and drought, which is why it turns up on so many Southwest streets.
Smoke Tree
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Southern Europe and Asia. The dusky purple leaves hold colour all season and the spent flowers form a haze that reads like smoke from a distance. Poor dry soil suits it better than rich ground.
Afghan Pine
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From the dry country of Afghanistan and Iran, which is close enough to ours that it has become a Southwest standard. Evergreen structure through winter, and it takes wind, heat and alkaline soil without complaint.
Chaste Tree
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Mediterranean. It flowers in blue spikes in late summer, the point in an Albuquerque year when most things have given up, and it treats our heat as normal weather.
Shrubs, cactus, grasses and perennials
Blue Mist Spirea
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
A garden hybrid of Asian parents, grown here for the haze of blue it throws in late summer. Bees find it from a long way off, and it asks for very little water.
Red Yucca
FLOOR PLAN NAME
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From Texas and northern Mexico, and not a true yucca. Coral flower spikes stand well above the leaves for months and hummingbirds work them daily. The most planted plant in this landscape, and the name on our one-bedroom.
Autumn Sage
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Texas and Mexico. It flowers from spring until frost stops it, which is an unusually long shift, and it keeps going on the kind of water most plants would sulk about.
Knockout Rose
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
A modern rose bred for people who do not want to fuss over roses. It carries colour for months and resists the diseases that make traditional roses hard work in a dry climate.
Yellow Bird of Paradise
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Originally South American and long since naturalised across the Southwest. It looks tropical and behaves like a desert plant, producing yellow flowers with long red stamens on almost no water.
Damianita
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
A Chihuahuan Desert native that reaches into southern New Mexico. A low evergreen mound that disappears under yellow daisies, with resinous foliage that smells sharp and clean when you brush past it.
Texas Sage
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Mexico. Silver foliage year-round, and it flowers purple in response to humidity - gardeners call it the barometer bush because it blooms after monsoon rain.
Moonshine Yarrow
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Yarrow grows across the northern hemisphere; this is a selection bred for sulphur-yellow flower plates over silver foliage. Flat flower heads make easy landing pads for pollinators, on very little water.
Whirling Butterflies Gaura
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Native to Texas and Louisiana. White flowers on wiry stems that move in the smallest breeze - the common name is whirling butterflies, and once you have seen it in wind the name explains itself.
Texas Sotol
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Chihuahuan Desert. A spherical burst of toothed blue-green leaves that holds its shape every day of the year, which is why it earns a place where structure matters more than flowers.
Potentilla
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Found across the northern hemisphere including the mountain West. It flowers for months and handles cold better than most of this palette, which matters at Albuquerque’s elevation.
Prickly Pear
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
Native right across New Mexico. Flat pads, silk-textured flowers in spring, then the fruit. Once it is established it lives on whatever the sky provides and nothing else.
Spanish Broom
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Mediterranean. Nearly leafless green stems that photosynthesise on their own, hung with fragrant yellow pea flowers - a plant built for places where water is scarce and light is not.
Feather Reed Grass
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
A sterile European hybrid, planted for its strict vertical habit. It catches every breeze, so it puts movement into a planting that is otherwise still, and it holds its shape right through winter.
Agave
FLOOR PLAN NAME
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From Mexico and the desert Southwest. A sculptural rosette that reads as architecture rather than planting, and the shape at the centre of this community’s own logo. It names our studio.
Catmint
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Eurasian, and one of the hardest-working plants in any dry garden. A long soft haze of lavender-blue that pollinators stay on all season, asking for very little in return.
Soaptree Yucca
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
A New Mexico native, and the yucca flower is our state flower. Sword leaves in a fountain with a tall creamy flower stalk in summer. Roots were historically used to make soap, which is where the name comes from.
Apache Plume
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
A New Mexico native and one of the toughest plants here. White rose-like flowers give way to feathery pink seed heads that catch low sun and glow, which is the real reason to plant it.
Fernbush
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
Native to the intermountain West including New Mexico. Finely cut aromatic foliage that looks like a fern and behaves like a desert shrub, topped with white flower spikes in summer.
Ocotillo
FLOOR PLAN NAME
NEW MEXICO NATIVE
Native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts and into southern New Mexico. Bare spiny canes most of the year that leaf out within days of rain and tip themselves with scarlet flowers. It names our three-bedroom.
Arp Rosemary
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
Mediterranean, and this is the Arp selection specifically - chosen because it survives winters that kill ordinary rosemary. Evergreen, aromatic, and it earns its place by the walkways where people brush past.
Butterfly Bush
ADAPTED TO ALBUQUERQUE
From China. Long flower panicles that butterflies work constantly through summer, on a shrub that tolerates dry ground and neglect.
New places to gather
The same contract adds a fenced dog park, three fire pit patios, a shaded pergola, grilling stations, a cornhole court, and bistro-lit walkways between the buildings. Work is phased and underway - our leasing team can tell you what is finished today.
Murals by a local hand
The desert-hill murals are being hand-painted at building scale by an Albuquerque artist. The painted landscape carries the same plants going into the ground beneath it - agave, yucca, ocotillo - so the wall and the garden read as one place rather than a decoration applied to a building.
Inside the homes
Renovated apartments receive an in-unit washer and dryer, new appliances, refreshed cabinetry with new doors and drawer fronts, new countertops with undermount sinks and a tile backsplash, new flooring, and fresh paint throughout. Renovations are phased across the community - ask our leasing team which homes are finished today and which include in-home laundry.
Power from the roof
Solar panels are being installed at the community as part of the same round of work. More of the electricity used here will be generated here, which cuts what the property draws off the grid and the carbon that comes with it. Installation is phased like everything else - ask our leasing team what is switched on today.
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
What you get, and what is on the way.
Desertscapes is a community in the middle of a real renovation. Here is what is open today and what the signed landscape contract adds next. Features vary by apartment - our leasing team can confirm what is finished.
Open today
Seasonal pool
Open in season, with lounge seating.
Fitness center
Cardio and weight-training equipment.
Playground
On-site play area for families.
Gated community
Controlled building access by fob.
BBQ and picnic area
Grills and shaded tables.
On-site laundry
Shared laundry facilities.
Coming with the renovation
Fenced dog park
Double-gated, built for off-leash time.
Three fire pit patios
Propane fire pits with seating.
Shaded pergola
A 30-foot pergola with bench seating.
Grilling stations
Two professional grills and a new patio.
Cornhole court
On synthetic turf.
Bistro-lit walkways
String lighting between the buildings.
Floor plans
Layouts and features may vary by apartment. Pricing and eligibility vary by apartment and program - speak with our leasing team for current information.
Common questions
Where is Desertscapes Apartments located?
DESERTSCAPES
APARTMENTS
7303 Montgomery Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Tours by appointment - schedule online anytime.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Desertscapes Apartments is an Equal Housing Opportunity provider. We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Professionally managed by The Laramar Group. Pricing, availability, features, and program requirements vary by apartment and are subject to change.