Twin Cities German Immersion School has won the latest battle in its efforts to tear down a former church structure to accommodate the growing K-8 charter school.

The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday unanimously rejected a local historic designation sought by neighbors and historic preservationists who oppose demolition of the former St. Andrew’s Church building on Como Avenue.

The vote was 5-0, with Kassim Busuri absent and Jane Prince recusing herself.

Council President Amy Brendmoen, who lives near the site and represents the area, said designating the 1920s building a St. Paul Heritage Preservation site would generate no funding for the school, but it would complicate the expansion that had been scheduled to begin later this month.

Brendmoen said she was uncomfortable applying a historic designation that the property owner was firmly opposed to. “To me, it amounts to a taking,” she said.

Brendmoen said her office had sought professional mediation, but a mediator found the school and neighbors entrenched.

“This does not preclude a better, middle-ground solution to this problem,” said Brendmoen, noting that with key votes behind her, she can get more publicly involved. “I encourage the neighbors, and particularly those who have been sitting on the sidelines until now, to get engaged.”

The expansion project would replace the former church building and equip the school of 587 students with a new 23,000-square-foot building spanning six new classrooms, small group space geared to special education, a cafeteria and a full gym.

“The council did the right thing in not sacrificing St. Paul’s future to preserve a small part of its past,” said German Immersion board chair Sam Walling, in a prepared statement.

Others expressed dismay.

“I’m heartsick,” said Mary Burnison, a 33-year resident of the neighborhood, addressing the city council during a zoning discussion later in the evening. “I have never seen this kind of tension and turmoil in my community. I was not a member of St. Andrew’s … (but) history and place matter. … It’s about relationships, as well as buildings.”

LEGAL CHALLENGE BEGINS

Opponents organizing under the title Friends of Warrendale/Save Historic St. Andrew’s filed suit this week against the school and its affiliated property ownership group in Ramsey County District Court. They say the church building’s demolition would violate the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which protects natural resources and cultural and scenic assets.

Staff with the State Historic Preservation Office have noted the former church’s blended Romanesque Revival architecture, designed nearly a century ago by St. Paul municipal architect Charles Hausler, could make it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

After its construction, the church became an important gathering ground for Hungarian immigrants. It was more recently deconsecrated by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, acquired by the charter school and then gutted in 2013.

On Wednesday evening, the council heard a series of public appeals related to the project’s site plan and three requested zoning variances for exceeding height and lot coverage, as well as a parking variance to provide the rough equivalent of 52 stalls where 86 stalls would otherwise be required. The school plans to maintain a parking lot with 28 off-street spaces, formalize its shared parking agreement with a church across the street for 15 stalls, and also provide covered bicycle parking.

As part of the conditions of approval, the school agreed to limit itself to nine grade levels — K-8 — with three sections or classrooms per grade level. With the support of the District 10 Como Community Council, the council then voted 5-0 to approve the site plan and variances.