The New Ulm City Council approved a Planned Unit Development (PUD) application for a property at

418 and 424 S. 13th Street and 1305-1315 South Minnesota Street. This PUD approval will allow for the development of new workforce housing.

Over the last year, NUBRIC has been working on developing workforce housing in the community through the Project Spark initiative. The idea is a workforce housing project could spur on further development in New Ulm.

NUBRIC’s plan is to bring the tiny homes concept to New Ulm. Tiny homes are simplified living spaces with small floor plans. With this new PUD, NUBRIC is planning to construct 15 tiny homes on a 0.757-acre property at the corner of 13 S. Street and Minnesota Street. The little community would include a common building and parking lot. Each of the tiny homes would be 20 feet by 20 feet and 20 feet tall at the peak.

New Ulm City Council approved Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the vacant lot at 1305-1315 S. Minnesota Street. The PUD would allow for the creation of 15 tiny homes on the property. Each of the proposed tiny homes would be 20 feet by 20 feet with a height of 20 feet at the peak of the roof. Photo by Clay Schuldt

City Planner John Knisley said each of the tiny homes would have a full main floor and a smaller loft on the second floor.

The property is currently zoned as a medium-density residence district (R-3). The property had originally been zoned as a multiple-family residence district. Over the last 50 years, the property has been developed for townhomes, duplexes, single-family homes and twin homes. For this reason, the surrounding properties have a mix of residential properties.

Knisley said this project would be completed in two phases. For the first phase, two model homes fronting 13th South Street will be built. This first phase would serve as a proof of concept and show the viability of the development. It will also secure funding for the second phase.

Knisley said the first phase is not only about testing the financial viability of the project but also receiving feedback from the community on the tiny houses.

This first phase will be completed in the winter of 2025. The second phase would begin subject to acceptance in the spring of 2026.

An overhead plan for the Project Spark tiny homes development at 13 South and Minnesota Street. The project would include 15 tiny homes and a common building built on a 0.757-acre property. Submitted photo

The PUD was approved by the New Ulm Planning Commission during their Thursday, June 26 meeting. The commission did recommend the project include pedestrian access from Minnesota Street into the development of the tiny home to accommodate people parking on the street.

Councilor David Christian said he was in favor of the tiny homes project but was concerned about the development density. He said the property was zoned high density residential until 2022, after which was changed to medium-density residential. By approving the PUD, the city was returning the property to high-density residential. The council would need to pass a separate motion to amend the city’s comprehensive and change the zoning for the property.

Christian also asked if the developers were set on 15 tiny homes on this property.

Knisley said to make the project financially feasible, NUBRIC Would need to create 15 tiny homes. However, Knisley reminded the council that if the first phase did not work, there would be only two tiny homes built on this property.

Knisley said the first two tiny homes will each be built on a separate utility service to allow them to be sold individually if phase two never moves forward.

Mayor Kathleen Backer supported the tiny homes project as she had other recent housing projects. Backer said it was great to give the residents of New Ulm a variety of housing options.

“This is just another piece of the puzzle that we are so fortunate to see coming our way,” she said. “We’re looking at apartment buildings, the barndominiums and now, tiny houses.”

Councilor Tom Schmitz made the motion to approve the PUD application with a second from Councilor Eric Warmka. It was unanimously approved by the council.