The final plat for the Highland Avenue Apartments and the Land Haven Development were both unanimously approved by the council. The plat approvals will enable the development of 170 total new residential units in New Ulm, in addition to new public improvements.

The final plat of Highland Apartment Addition was unanimously recommended for approval by the New Ulm Planning Commission during its May 29 meeting. Since that approval, the plat was adjusted to include street right-of-way extensions for 10th North Street, 7th North and Lind Road.

The entire platted area for the Highland Avenue Apartments is 35.21 acres, but the majority of the platted area will remain undeveloped. Around 10 acres have been approved for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to construct the apartments. The PUD calls for the construction of four, three-story apartment buildings, eight detached garages, along with a pool, children’s playground, dog park, parking lots, storm water pond, and the extension of 10th North Street from North Highland Avenue to the west. Each building would have between 38 and 36 apartment units with a mix of one and two-bedroom units, with a total of 148 units on the site.

The four buildings in the development will have frontage on the extension of either 10th North Street, North Highland Avenue or 7th North Street.

The final plat for the Highland Avenue Apartment Project was approved by the New Ulm City Council Tuesday. The platted land would allow for the creation of 148 apartment unit project at 901 Highland Avenue. Photo by Clay Schuldt

The council unanimously approved the plat for the Highland Apartment Addition.

Later in the meeting, the council approved a separate development agreement for the creation of the apartment buildings.

City Planner John Knisley said the development agreement called for the apartment project to be constructed in two phases. In the first phase, two apartment buildings fronting North Highland Avenue would be constructed. Each building will have 38 dwelling units. During this phase, the developer will construct a portion of 10th N. Street adjacent to the buildings.

In the second phase, two additional apartment buildings will be built to the west of the buildings constructed in the first phase. Each building in the second phase will have 36 dwelling units. The developer will complete the portion of the 10th North Street extension during this phase.

Construction of this project improvement is scheduled to start in the summer/fall of 2025.

Community Development Director David Schnobrich provides the New Ulm City Councils with the details on the Highland Apartment plat. The final plat for the project was approved by the council during their Tuesday meeting. Photo by Clay Schuldt

The council unanimously approved the development agreement for the Highland Apartments.

The Land Haven Development plat was for 6.85 acres of property located at 2211 Jacobs Street, adjacent to Walmart. The plan for the property is to construct 28 building lots. Twenty-two of the lots would be used for bardominium (BA) units. A barndominium is a residential building combining a traditional barn-like structure with residential dwelling features. The other six buildings on the property will be used for storage condominiums (SC). The SC units will have gas and electric services but no water or sewer.

The developer would also construct a private, U-shaped street in the development, providing frontage for all lots on the property. There would also be two outlets for stormwater retention.

The approval of the plat is a requirement for the property developers to secure a PUD zoning designation for Land Haven.

Community Development Director David Schnobrich said approval of the PUD zoning designation will likely come back to the city council during their next meeting in August.

The New Ulm City Council approved the 6.85-acre plat for Land Haven Development during their Tuesday meeting. The property is located directly northeast of Walmart. The developers plant to create combination dwelling and storage facilities. Photo by Clay Schuldt