Indian Pueblo Entrepreneur Complex receives $200K grant from Lowe’s for landscaping upgrades

A complex built to give a boost to Native and local entrepreneurs is set to receive a boost of its own.

Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Entrepreneur Complex, or IPEC, is one of 100 recipients across the country recently selected to receive a Lowe’s Hometowns grant, according to a news release. The IPEC will receive $200,000 for landscaping upgrades surrounding the complex.

“We’re honored to receive this funding from Lowe’s for these necessary upgrades for the entrepreneur complex,” said Bill Stimmel, the IPEC’s entrepreneurial director.

The Lowe’s Hometowns program was launched by the American home improvement retailer in 2022. It’s a five-year, $100 million program that aims to fund the revitalization of community spaces across the country, according to the Lowe’s website.

The IPEC, which provides facilities, resources and training to Native and local entrepreneurs, was the only renovation project selected in New Mexico this year.

The $200,000 grant will fund exterior upgrades, including excavation for improved storm water drainage via a landscaped retention pond, planting new fruit trees and installing pedestrian walkways.

Stimmel said the renovations will be implemented in September and October with the hopes of completing the project by Nov. 1.

The project funding comes as the complex plans other developments for the northwest corner of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center campus. The campus, located north of Interstate 40 around 12th Street, is situated within nearly 80 acres of land owned by New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos.

The first phase of the IPEC — a 7,500-square-foot building with a classroom, onsite garden and commercial kitchen — opened on the campus last fall.

The remaining two phases of the IPEC project entail construction of a 1,500-square-foot refrigerated storage space expected to open mid-2026 and repurposing existing buildings into administrative and garden workspaces in mid-to-late 2026.

While existing facilities are primarily geared toward supporting businesses in the food and agriculture industries, Stimmel said the complex helps a wide range of entrepreneurs.

The IPCC had enough funding to get the phase one building and garden of the IPEC up and running, but did not have enough to cover landscaping for the surrounding area, which Stimmel said is “pretty rough” at the moment.

“We don’t really have much landscaping on this side of the campus,” Stimmel said. “It’s something that we’ve wanted for a long time.”

The new landscaping will not only improve the area surrounding the existing IPEC building but will lay the foundation for establishing connectivity between the current building and the rest of the complex, yet to be developed, Stimmel said.

“In addition to connecting the buildings here within the entrepreneur complex, (this landscaping project) is also going to provide cohesion with the rest of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center campus,” Stimmel said. “That continuity doesn’t really exist right now, and it’s going to be huge for us and for visitors.”

Stimmel said the complex’s current client base of roughly 25 entrepreneurs is “very excited to see the continued growth of the complex.” With the new landscaping and future additions to the complex, Stimmel said he expects the number of entrepreneurs and businesses the complex serves to grow to 50.