Lobo Rainforest at Innovate ABQ

Albuquerque, NM

Innovate ABQ is a collaborative public-private partnership between the University of New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque, and a private development team. The project develops spaces to accelerate the commercialization of intellectual capital to generate successful startup companies.

Together with our development team, Dekker/Perich/Sabatini designed Lobo Rainforest, the first building for Innovate ABQ. A six-story, mixed-use building, Lobo Rainforest includes ground level fabrication labs, offices, and common area support amenities for use by students and public enterprises. Support spaces include a café, bike storage room, fitness facility, housing offices, and an elevated second-level exterior deck overlooking the south facing courtyard.

Floors two through six provide 310 beds of student housing for those acquiring skills related to the program. The 2 bedroom/2 bath student apartments are 604sf and include kitchen, living, and dining room spaces. All bedrooms are single occupancy.

Innovate ABQ is located on UNM-owned land north of the First Baptist Church near downtown Albuquerque. Through a master planning process involving the study of multiple sites, this location was selected due to its proximity to downtown and concentration of businesses and amenities, such as restaurants and the Albuquerque Rapid Transit line along Central Avenue.

The existing Church was built in three phases and the two earliest phases are considered historically significant. Our team worked carefully to help preserve the historically significant buildings while utilizing a site area in the courtyard north of the Church through a building ground lease with UNM. It takes advantage of existing parking surrounding the site.

The new development creates new and vibrant activities to reactivate the UNM satellite campus and supports the local economy through the creation of new business startups.



Innovate ABQ Overall Development Plan





