In St. Paul’s Como neighborhood, a coalition of residents opposed to the proposed demolition of the former St. Andrew’s Church building has filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against its tear-down.

Led by group president Teri Alberico, a next-door neighbor to the Twin Cities German Immersion School, the Friends of Warrendale/Save Historic St. Andrew’s filed Monday suit in Ramsey County District Court under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, or MERA.

The law, enacted in 1971, aims to protect natural resources from destruction, including scenic, cultural and aesthetic resources.

Whether a gutted and deconsecrated former church building fits the definition remains to be seen. But members of Save Historic St. Andrew’s and some state preservationists say the 92-year-old building’s Romanesque Revival architecture makes it distinctive.

The 1920s-era building serves as the public K-8 charter school’s cafeteria and gymnasium, and school officials are eager to remove it and construct a modern school building with additional classroom space.

“We hope that this will motivate the other side to work on other options,” said Tom Goldstein, a spokesman for Save Historic St. Andrew’s. “We want to explore alternatives.”

In response to the lawsuit, Sam Walling, the chairman of the school’s board of directors, issued a Monday evening statement saying that it planned to “vigorously defend its right to construct facilities that are needed for the 580 students it educates, on the property it owns.”

The St. Paul City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a separate but related matter — a potential local historic designation for the building, which was designed by St. Paul municipal architect Charles Hausler nearly a century ago.

The seven-member council will vote on whether to designate it a St. Paul Heritage Preservation site, but Goldstein and other members of Historic St. Andrew’s have their doubts they’ll be able to garner enough votes for approval.

Walling’s statement anticipated that outcome as well:

“While we continue to review the materials that have been filed against us, we are confident that at the end of the day the court will recognize what we expect the Saint Paul City Council to affirm at Wednesday’s hearing: The former church is not an historic resource that warrants protection; and TCGIS should be free to make the decisions that best fulfill its mission and maximize the educational outcomes of its students.”