Photo by Clay Schuldt NUBRIC CEO Steve Brown discusses the Tiny Home project during New Ulm Economic Development meeting.

NEW ULM – Going into 2026, New Ulm Business Resource Innovation Center (NUBRIC) will be taking a big step into a tiny world.

NUBRIC CEO Steve Brown said in the next year its workforce housing project, known as the Tiny Homes project will be ready.

The Tiny Homes project is being developed at 418 and 424 S. 13th Street and 1305-1315 South Minnesota Street. The idea is to create simplified living spaces with small floor plans. Each of the tiny homes built in this development would be 20 feet by 20 feet and 20 feet tall at the peak. The homes would have a full main floor and a smaller loft second floor.

The end goal for the development is to create 15 tiny homes, but to start NUBRIC will build two test homes for the community to spur interest.

Brown said the project has been in development for a few years and required multiple zoning and permit approvals, but that has been completed.

Brown said NUBRIC has the permits to begin construction on the first two tiny homes this spring. He anticipates they will be move-in ready to rent by the summer.

“There is a lot of interest in this project locally, but also from outside of town,” Brown said. It is believed the tiny houses could assist with workforce development. The homes could be rented by workers who need to move into the community for work and need a small starter home.

On the education front, NUBRIC is working with the New Ulm High School (NUHS) to further develop the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center.

Brown said this last year the CTE committee was reformed to assist with growing the CTE Center. The new committee has members from the EDA, school board and local industry. The current plan to find a coordinator to operate the center. By bringing other people on the CTE committee, NUBRIC hopes to take the burden off the school.

“One of the problems they having with the CTE Center is funding,” Brown said. Initially, Independent School District 88 was behind the creation of the CTE center, but the school has been constrained by financing. NUBRIC’s goal is to help provide funding so it can operate correctly and help provide technical education for area students.

For the last few years, NUBRIC has pushed for greater robotics education in New Ulm, calling it essential for students and the industry.

“Everything is going that way,” Brown said. “Industry is automating everything. Farming is going that way too. Factories in New Ulm are already using robots. They need people with those skills. The more kids interested in robotics, the more local help we will have.”

Another long-term goal for NUBRIC is the creation of a business incubator. The idea is for NUBRIC to partner with an area organization and create a site where a new tech business could start and grow, eventually moving to a new location.

Brown said there is interest in creating a business incubator in New Ulm, but the struggle is finding a location site and the financing to make it work in the community.

NUBRIC is also continuing to offer business consulting to new entrepreneurs. In the next year, NUBRIC wants to bring a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to New Ulm.

“We’re one of the largest counties in the region without a SBC,” Brown said. “We want to get that here in 2026. A SBC here could help all the communities in Brown County.”

Overall Brown is optimistic about 2026 and NUBRIC’s ability to make process in the community through partnerships with other organizations.

“I think we have a really good team of people who all care,” he said. “The people really care about this community. They want it to improve. There is an upbeat adittude.”

Brown pointed to the number of building permits approved in New Ulm last year as a sign of strong progress.

“The word is getting out about New Ulm,” he said.