A Ramsey County District judge on Monday granted a temporary restraining order sought by residents opposed to the demolition of the former St. Andrew’s Church.
The restraining order delays the Twin Cities German Immersion School’s plan to demolish the building for an expansion project, but perhaps not for long. As part of her order, Judge Jennifer Frisch required residents opposed to the plan to provide nearly $2 million through a security bond by 2 p.m. on July 22 to cover the potential impact on construction costs.
If they don’t? “The temporary restraining order will automatically and immediately lift and vacate,” Frisch wrote. Otherwise, a full trial is scheduled for December.
Bonnie Youngquist, a Churchill Street resident and member of the Friends of Warrendale / Save Historic St. Andrew’s, said meeting the $2 million figure would be a challenge.
“I’m sad,” she said. “We’ll certainly try. We’re not rich people. We’ll put in an all-out effort to come up with $2 million.”
Meanwhile, Julie Alkatout, the new chair of the school’s board of directors, said in a statement she appreciated “that the court recognized the substantial harm the school will suffer if the project is delayed, and we will await July 22.”
FROM CHURCH TO SCHOOL
Members of Save Historic St. Andrew’s have rallied for months in hopes of preventing the K-8 charter school from tearing down the former St. Andrew’s building at 1031 Como Ave. The building is largely used as a school cafeteria and gym space.
In her 20-page memorandum, Frisch noted that the building, which dates to 1927, was a “community institution” for the working-class people it served. That includes a community of Hungarian immigrants.
The congregation merged with a neighboring parish and moved to a different site in 2011.
The charter school bought the church and a neighboring 1957 school in 2013 and connected the two. The crowded school, which will soon exceed 600 students, plans to replace the church with a new gym, cafeteria and classroom space.
BATTLE ENDS UP IN COURT
On June 3, Save Historic St. Andrew’s sought to block the demolition through a legal action filed under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA), which aims to preserve the state’s natural and cultural resources. The court held a three-day hearing that began July 1, and the judge visited the site.
“The court also referred the parties to mediation, which resulted in an impasse,” the judge wrote.
The school “has now secured most of the approvals pre-requisite to the filing of a demolition permit and expects to begin demolition immediately,” Frisch wrote. “The school has obtained the zoning variances necessary to construct the new building and is on-schedule to obtain supporting financing and conduct construction activities.”
Frisch found, however, that the school failed to prove under MERA that demolition of the school is essential “for the promotion of public health, safety and welfare.”
But the judge added that while a temporary restraining order preserves the status quo for the time being, and does no immediate harm to either side. The judge also noted the overcrowding issues “are not hypothetical. … In the next academic year, the school will enroll 75 more students than the current facility was designed to hold, and this number is expected to grow.”
Under MERA, she noted, the court may “require the plaintiff to post a bond sufficient to indemnify the defendant for damages suffered because of the temporary relief,” and she estimated even a speedy litigation process “will result in at least a six-month construction delay.” The school showed that could lead to higher construction and financing costs, especially if work is delayed into the winter months.
“Here, the defendant is a public charter school with limited financial services, construction financing obligations and attendant debt service requirements,” Frisch wrote.