Environmental review petition further delays TCGIS project

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

An environmental review has put the Twin Cities German Immersion School construction progress on hold.
A team of Save Historic Saint Andrews (SHSA) members, led by Roy Neal, asked the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) on Feb. 22, for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) on the proposed demolition of the former St. Andrew’s Church and the addition to the Twin Cities German Immersion School (TCGIS).
TCGIS officials view the petition as yet another delay tactic.
The EQB has determined that the petition is consistent with state requirements and that the city of St. Paul is the Responsible Governmental Unit (RGU) for determining the need for an EAW, pointed out SHSA member Bonnie Youngquist. “State rules governing environmental review (including EAWs) prohibit the city from taking final action on any zoning applications until all environmental review processes have been completed,” explained Youngquist.
Because of this, the planned Mar. 6 hearing on the appeals of the requested TCGIS variances and the site plan was canceled.
A City Council hearing on the appeals will be rescheduled after the city has either determined that an EAW is not needed or until an EAW process is completed.
In all, 126 people signed the petition asking for the review. Of them, 80 percent live outside the district, according to the District 10 Community Council.
Petitioner’s concerns
The petitioners have asked for a review citing four environmental impacts:
1. The loss of a significant and irreplaceable historic resource, the former St. Andrew’s Church
2. Increased traffic and safety concerns in a small, residential neighborhood
3. Increased noise levels from higher student population and more traffic
4. An increase in net carbon production near homes, and an unsustainable plan
The petition, and more description of the four points, can be read in its entirety at www.district10comopark.org/uploads/eaw_petition_partial.pdf.
According to the government website, “The EAW is a brief document designed to lay out the basic facts of a project necessary to determine if an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required for a proposed project. In addition to the legal purpose of the EAW in determining the need for an EIS, the EAW also provides permit information, informs the public about the project, and helps identify ways to protect the environment. The EAW is not meant to approve or deny a project, but instead, act as a source of information to guide other approvals and permitting decisions.”
Appeals on hold
The city had been planning to hear appeals on Mar. 6 by the Dist. 10 Como Community Council and by SHSA which had sought to overturn decisions by the Planning Commission.
If there had been no action, the school’s original variance requests would have automatically gone into effect on Mar. 26.
Both of those deadlines are now null.
District 10 filed an appeal on Feb. 19 questioning the Planning Commission’s Feb. 8 decision to not vote on the school’s most recent variance requests and site plan. According to the documents filed with the city, District 10 alleges that “the Planning Commission failed its fundamental role of ensuring that a project complies with the city zoning code. As a result, by a violation of law, three variances and a site plan that violate the zoning code will take effect. In reaching the point leading to its Feb. 8 action, the commission made errors in fact, finding and procedure.”
On behalf of SHSA, Kevin Anderson filed two appeals on Feb. 15, one pinpointing the TCGIS site plan and the other the three variance requests.
Both cite an error in procedure and decision at the Feb. 8 Planning Commission meeting.
“The Planning Commission process has been incredibly confusing for everyone involved,” said Ward 5 Council member Amy Brendmoen. “I appreciate both parties’ appeals as it will provide the City Council an opportunity to evaluate the planning staff report and make an unambiguous decision.”
Historic preservation
The city has yet to decide on giving historic designation to the former church building, which would prevent the school from tearing it down and constructing a 25,000-square-foot addition.
The City Council may hold a public hearing on the issue on Wed., Mar. 20, followed by a City Council vote on Mar. 27.

 Article printed in the March 2019 edition of the Como/Midway Monitor.

Uproar over planning commission vote on TCGIS building project

City attorney rules vote invalid after complaints from SHSA; but commission says it will not revisit the issue

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

When the planning commission voted on the variances and site plan requested by the Twin Cities German Immersion School (TCGIS) for the teardown of the former St. Andrew’s Church and construction of a new 25,000-square-foot addition, the votes were both ties at 6-6.

A questionable vote by St. Paul’s Planning Commission Chair Elizabeth Reveal on Jan. 25, has some Warrendale neighbors in an uproar.
Typically a chair does not cast a vote unless it will break a tie. In this case, Reveal cast a vote that created the tie. According to Robert’s Rules of Order, a motion fails on a tie vote, pointed out members of Save Historic St. Andrew’s (SHSA) in a letter to St. Paul Director of Planning Luis M. Pereira expressing the group’s frustration.
“If this meeting had been conducted properly—and in accordance with both past and best practices—the recommendation from the Zoning Committee to deny the variances would have been carried forward on a 6-5 vote, and we would have no reason to appeal,” wrote SHSA officers.
According to an email written by Pereira on Jan. 29, “The city attorney’s office has advised staff that the variances and site plan were not properly approved because the commission reached a tie vote.” Because of this, the planning commission was expected to re-open the vote on the same items at its meeting on Feb. 8.
Instead, they voted to not review the issue. The full impact of a non-decision was unclear as of press time. However, an appeal by either SHSA or TCGIS is expected.
Under state law, the school’s variance requests will be considered approved if the city does not act otherwise within the statute’s 60-day timeline, explained Dist. 10 Community Council Executive Director Michael Kuchta. “In the case of the variances, that timeline runs out Mar. 26. Among things that are not clear is the status of school’s site plan (deadline Mar. 6), which version of variances would take effect, and whether the planning commission’s denial, approval, or non-decision on the school’s variance requests can—at this point—be appealed to the city council.”
“We urge the city council to correct this action by placing a moratorium on any expansion request by TCGIS and to deny the variances requested,” stated SHSA members.
TCGIS did not comment on this latest action.
Approval not valid
Early reports following the Jan. 25 meeting stated that the planning commission approved the site plan on a 7-5 vote. However, as Kuchta explained, the vote is not valid.
“Before the final vote on the site plan, commissioners voted twice on the three zoning variances the school would need to move forward,” explained Kuchta. “First, the planning commission rejected the recommendation of its zoning committee to deny the variances. That vote was 6-6. (Under normal procedure, a tie vote means a motion fails, because it does not have a majority.) Immediately after that, commissioners voted 6-6 on a motion to approve the variances. The tie vote meant that motion also failed.
“The commission charged forward, however, and rejected its zoning committee’s recommendation to reject the site plan; this vote was 5-7. Finally, the full commission voted 7-5 to approve the site plan. The site plan includes dozens of conditions the school must meet to receive building permits.
Among these conditions: the three zoning variances—a 3.1-foot variance on height, a 1 percent variance on lot coverage, and a 34-space parking variance. The problem? The site plan relies on variances that have been rejected.”
Reveal’s experience
Reveal also serves on the zoning committee, although she was not present at the Jan. 17 meeting during which the committee recommended denial of the variances and site plan on a 5-1 vote.
Reveal, a resident of Ward 2, was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2011. Her term expires in 2020. She served as an ex-officio member of a planning commission in Philadelphia and worked closely with planning departments and commissions in Seattle and Washington, D.C. before returning to St. Paul in 2009.
There are currently 17 members on the planning commission, which has space for 21 members. Only 12 members were present at the Jan. 25 meeting.
Zoning committee’s opinion
The recent planning commission votes come after a series of meeting over several months as the teardown and new construction proposal by TCGIS moves through the approval process.
On Dec. 18, 2018, the District 10 Board voted to approve the three variance requests and a site approval plan while expressing that this was not a vote against or for historic designation of the former church. The District 10 votes are considered advisory to the city council.
This was followed by the Jan. 17 zoning committee meeting that recommended the planning commission deny the variances and site plan. The five commissioners who voted to deny expressed concerns about TCGIS being a “commuter school,” heavy traffic during pick-up and drop-off times, lack of off-street parking, and a school that is too much for the site. In his opinion, Commissioner Kris Fredson said that he thought city staff gave too much weight to the land use policy versus the historic preservation policy.
In support of the school, Commissioner Cedrick Baker pointed out TCGIS owns the building.
The city council has final say on the TCGIS building project, as well as the historic designation of St. Andrew’s Church. It is planning a public hearing on Mar. 20.
Traffic and congestion relief
As reported in the Jan. 17 zoning committee minutes, TCGIS has agreed to use crossing guards at Como and Oxford, and direct staff and parents to avoid parking on Como to facilitate better traffic flow. A crosswalk will also be added to designate a single point of crossing at Como and Oxford, and the signal light at Lexington and Como will be tweaked.
TCGIS is also exploring offering discounted Metro Transit passes, encouraging the use of the Zipcar car-sharing app, increasing school bus use, and investigating staggered release times.

NAACP opposes TCGIS expansion

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
The NAACP opposes the proposed expansion of the Twin Cities German Immersion School.
In a statement issued in December, the St. Paul NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) explained its reason for opposition: “We believe that it will exacerbate the racial and socioeconomic segregation in the St. Paul schools.”
The NAACP sees this as a larger problem involving charter schools in general.
At the 107th National Convention in July 2017, the NAACP passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion. The resolution stated, “charter schools have contributed to the increased segregation rather than diverse integration of our public school system.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Education, TCGIS’ student population is 87% white, 13% students of color, and 7% low-income (qualifying for free-or-reduced-price lunch). In contrast, the surrounding school district, St. Paul Public Schools, is 21% white, 79% students of color, and 68% low-income.
“Expansion of such a predominantly white and relatively wealthy charter school in the heart of the city would frustrate efforts to desegregate St. Paul schools and contribute to further racial and socioeconomic segregation,” the NAACP stated.
“The concerns of local educational policy are highly germane to the decision-making of any city governmental body. Racial and socioeconomic segregation in our schools is the responsibility of all government officials to eradicate, and it is certainly their obligation to avoid any decision to make things worse. Education has a special place in our society. The Minnesota State Constitution singles out education to receive special protection and requires unique obligations by the state to provide an adequate education to all students. Courts since Brown v. Board of Education have found that segregated education is both unconstitutional and immoral.”
The NAACP urged the Planning Commission and all other city officials involved to reject the proposed expansion and prevent further segregation of local schools.”
The St. Paul NAACP is part of a national network of more than 2,400 branches of the NAACP in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The NAACP has more than 500,000 members and is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons, and to protect constitutional rights.

Article printed in the January 2019 edition of the Como/Midway Monitor.

District 10 recommends approval of variances for TCGIS expansion

Board stressed they were not taking a position for or against historic preservation or value of former church building

District 10 Board members debate three variance requests from the Twin Cities German Immersion School who hopes to demolish the existing St. Andrew’s church building and construct an addition there. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
District 10 Board members have approved three variance requests for the Twin Cities German Immersion School (TCGIS) expansion project, but the board has not taken a position for or against historic designation of the former St. Andrew’s Church building that is at the center of this divisive neighborhood issue.
Photo right: On Dec. 18, 2018, District 10 Board members (left to right) Amy Perna (Vice Chair), Ryan Flynn (Chair), Anne Hartmann (treasurer) and Tim Post (secretary) consider three variance requests from the Twin Cities German Immersion School. Representatives from the school and Save Historic Saint Andrews spoke at the meeting. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
Before receiving official city approval, projects must go before their local district councils. In the Como area, the process for building projects is that they first go before the Land Use Committee, which is composed of however many neighborhood residents attend each meeting, and then the 17-member District 10 Board.
District council votes are advisory, and the city council is not required to go along with the recommendations.
While the approval process for the proposed school addition progresses on one track, the possible historic designation of the former St. Andrew’s Church building moves on another.
The city’s Preservation Commission ruled on Nov. 5, 2018, that the former church designed by the city’s first architect, Charles A. Hausler, is eligible for historic status. However, on Dec. 14, the city’s Planning Commission voted against it being eligible using a different set of criteria. The Heritage Preservation Commission held a public hearing on Jan. 14, past this Monitor’s deadline.
Variance 1: height
Charter schools often make do with spaces, observed TCGIS Executive Director Ted Anderson during the Dec. 18, 2018 District 10 Board meeting. “One of the biggest reasons that we’re motivated to build in this space is that we really want to have usable space for our kids.”
“We’ve seriously looked at how we can keep this building,” said board member and neighborhood resident Nic Ludwig. “We spent two months looking at that before we looked at other options.”
The proposed addition following the demolition of the former St. Andrew’s Church would have a cafeteria on the main level and an expanded commons area adjacent to the addition TCGIS built in 2013 when it moved to the site. Floor two would have six classrooms and RTI (response to interventions) space to provide individualized education.
In the lower floor would be two gymnasiums.
The proposed structure would be a bit wider and shorter than the existing church building.
However, it would be slightly taller than what is allowed by city code, so TCGIS is requesting a variance to the height of 3.1 feet for a total height of 33.1 feet. The existing church building is taller than what is now allowed by the city code. At the peak of the church roof, the current building is 47 feet tall, and it is 38 feet, 6 inches at the midpoint of the roof, according to a St. Paul staff report.
Photo right: District 10 Board member and Land Use Committee Chair Maggie Zimmerman presents highlights from the recent Land Use Committee meeting regarding the Twin Cities German Immersion School’s variance requests during a board meeting on Dec. 18. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
At the District 10 Land Use Committee meeting on Dec. 5, people had voted 96-76 to granting the variance. Land Use Committee members include anyone age 18 or older who resides in geographic boundaries of District 10; or anyone who is a designated representative of a business or nonprofit organization physically located within District 10.
Of the 230 people at the meeting, 187 were District 10 residents who could vote, according to Land Use Committee Chair Maggie Zimmerman. Of that, 60% were from subdistrict 2 (which includes Warrendale), 15% from subdistrict 1, 17% from subdistrict 4, and 8% from subdistrict 3.
Following the recommendation of its Land Use Committee, the District 10 Board voted 14-1 on Dec. 18 to support the variance request for height. Zimmerman and chair Ryan Flynn abstained from all the votes. St. Paul staff is also recommending approval of this variance.
Board position on historic designation
Vice Chair Amy Perna proposed an amendment to the first two motions that they be contingent upon the application for historical designation being denied.
“I think we have two processes going on and if the historic preservation goes through that changes the landscape,” explained Perna.
This amendment was not added following two 7-8 votes as the majority of board members felt that the issue would need to return to them if the historical designation moved forward.
Chair Ryan Flynn affirmed that support for the variance requests “is not an opposition to the historic designation.” He added, “The board has not taken a position on historic designation.”
Variance 2: lot coverage
The second variance request would allow TCGIS to have a total lot coverage of 36%, 1% more than the city’s allowable amount in an R4 residential district. Right now, the former St. Andrew’s Church occupies 32% of the site.
The Land Use Committee approved this by a 100-74 vote.
District 10 Board members approved 14-1 with two abstentions. St. Paul staff is also recommending approval of this variance.
Kevin Anderson of Save Historic St. Andrews (SHSA), the group pushing for preservation, argued that in the city’s zoning ordinance, there is language preventing the overcrowding of land and undue congestion of population. He pointed out that of the elementary schools in St. Paul, TCGIS is the highest in density. TCGIS has 375.1 students per acre while the next closest schools, Achieve Language Academy, has 270.5 students per acre, Murray Middle has 188.1 students per acre, and St. Paul Music Academy has 176.4 students per acre. SHSA believes the density puts a strain on the site and neighborhood streets.
Variance 3: parking
The last variance request generated the most discussion by the District 10 Board.
TCGIS is asking the city to waive the requirement that it provide 37 additional parking spaces with the addition. The school’s current proposal accounts for just 50 parking spaces, but it anticipates having 87 full-time equivalent employees with the school expansion.
The school’s parking lot on the west side currently has 33 spaces, and it will lose one spot with the addition. TCGIS will also remove the six-space parking lot on the east side to create green space there for a net loss of seven parking spaces.
It has contracted with Mission Church across the street to use 15 spaces there when they’re not needed by the church, an agreement that expires in June 2019. The school will offset nine parking spaces by providing bike racks for 36 bikes. The remaining vehicles are expected to use on-street parking in the neighborhood or by staff using alternative forms of transportation.
Ludwig noted that the school plans to meet with the city about using the Como pool lot, but that will cost the school money.
School representatives and those from Save Historic St. Andrews presented conflicting traffic and parking data during the meeting, with one side stating there was plenty of parking spaces available during school hours and the other stating there wasn’t. Each had photos to illustrate their point. The majority of TCGIS school students do come from outside the neighborhood and either ride the bus to school or come by vehicle. Of the 560 students, 55 live in District 10 and half in St. Paul, according to T. Anderson.
A traffic study is currently being done by TCGIS using measures set by the city.
At the Land Use Committee meeting, the school asked for a variance of 37 spaces. Before the District 10 board meeting, the city recommended a variance of only 29 spaces with no net loss in on-site parking.
During its vote, District 10 Board members agreed to follow through on the Land Use Committee vote (101-76) and approved a variance of 37 parking spaces on an 8-7 vote with two abstaining.
Those in favor of the motion explained that they supported more green space over parking. “I’m concerned about the message we’re sending to prioritize a parking lot,” said board member Laura Jo Busian.
Those opposed were concerned about shifting the burden of parking to neighborhood streets. “I think it does have the biggest impact on the neighborhood,” said board member Olivia Mulvey Morawiecki.
A neighborhood divided
School representatives stated that they don’t think they can keep the school financially stable and cover the costs of keeping the church as a historic building. “Will that make us leave tomorrow? No, but it will be a drain on our budget,” said T. Anderson.
They do not think the city should designate the former church as a historic site over their objections.
Save Historic Saint Andrews (SHSA) member Anna Moser pointed out that neighbors banded together to save the historic Victoria Theater at 825 University Ave. in Frogtown when the property owner wanted to tear it own. The structure was granted historic preservation status and is in the middle of a renovation project.
District 10 Board member Mike Ireland observed, “Since I started on the board there have been issues with the community and the school. It’s been exacerbated since the demolition came up. At some point, one side is going to walk away happy and one very sad.” He expressed his concern about the division he sees and asked how the school and community were going to come together after this.
On behalf of the school, Ludwig stated that TCGIS will continue to host neighborhood events such as National Night Out.
SHSA representative K. Anderson said that it is important to be respectful of each other in this process.
“I respect and understand that the school is an important part of our community, but I want it to be a positive part of the community,” stated Moser.
SHSA has requested data from the school to facilitate a design meeting this winter in which all stakeholders in the project would attempt to resolve the conflict and preserve the historic church structure.

Article printed in the January 2019 Como/Midway Monitor.

Zoning Commission holds off vote on TCGIS expansion plans

Delay gives school and community time to reach agreements on parking, traffic, pedestrian safety, and sound issues

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
Given the unresolved issues regarding parking, traffic and playground noise at the Twin Cities German Immersion School, the District 10 Board asked the St. Paul Zoning Commission to hold off on decisions that would facilitate the school’s expansion project.
While the District 10 Board approved three variance requests on Tues., Dec. 18, it delayed action on the school’s site plan believing it to be incomplete.
During a Dec. 20, 2018, Zoning Commission meeting, District 10 Executive Director Michael Kuchta asked the commission to table action to give the school, city staff, and community time to “fully review, deliberate and reach agreements” on various issues.
“The plan, as it currently exists, is incomplete,” wrote Kuchta in a letter to the commission. “It should not be approved until numerous areas of uncertainty are settled. Parking, traffic, pedestrian safety, and sound and sight buffering of the school’s play areas all are specific issues that remain unresolved.”
Kuchta cited uncertainty about how many on-site parking spaces the school needs and how that might be addressed.
He pointed out that city staff and the community have not had adequate time to review a 200-page traffic study submitted by the school. “It is unclear what actions city staff will require in areas such as traffic flow, student drop-off and pick-up, bus parking, crosswalk treatments, a Safe Routes to School plan, and related issues,” Kuchta wrote. “Especially because of the high percentage of private vehicles that transport students, these decisions have intense impacts on quality of life in the immediate residential neighborhood.”
He also pointed out that the school’s playground is unusually close to nearby residences.
“These are issues that exist today—and will continue to exist—regardless of what form the school’s expansion takes,” stated Kuchta.
The Zoning Commission agreed to table the issue following a four-hour hearing, and the school agreed to extend the legal deadline for review by 14 days to accommodate this.
The Zoning Commission will next review the issue on Jan. 17, and send a final recommendation to the Planning Commission on Jan. 25. The city council could review this on March 6.

Commission favors saving St. Andrew’s from wrecking ball

Heritage Preservation Commission considers church to be significant to St. Paul’s history and votes 8-1 to preserve it

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
After hearing from both sides of the issue, the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission voted 8-1 in favor of preserving the historic St. Andrew’s Church (photo right by Tesha M. Christensen) that is now being used by the Twin Cities German Immersion School (TCGIS). The recommendation now moves on to the St. Paul Planning Commission and the St. Paul City Council.
School opposed to historic designation
The Heritage Preservation Commission received about 200 letters opposing the historic designation of the former St. Andrew’s Church. Nearly all of the letters were written by people who said they were parents of children who attend school at TCGIS or were teachers and staff members. The school currently has about 520 pupils and seeks to grow to about 630.
About 100 of the letters were from St. Paul residents including some who identified themselves as neighbors. The rest came from Minneapolis, Roseville, and other suburbs.
TCGIS supporters asked the Heritage Preservation Commission to avoid giving “a crumbling former church building, owned by the Twin Cities German Immersion School, a historic designation will put an unrealistic financial burden on this public charter school.”
The letters referred to it as a “short-sighted petition” that is “being presented by a small, vocal and selfish minority of neighbors.”
In his letter to the commission, TCGIS Executive Director Ted Anderson pointed out, “The school is a model for successful charter schools in both cities.”
Anderson added, “The non-profit school’s future is at stake if it is to be forced into maintaining an old building that is falling apart and is functionally obsolete.”
TCGIS does not think that historic designation should occur over the property owner’s objections—“Especially when the property owner is a non-profit entity such as a public charter school,” wrote Anderson.
Additionally, he wrote that historic preservation is not a benefit to a non-profit like a school; it is a burden.
“When my husband and I first saw the school, we were impressed with the beautiful building and excited that our children would attend a school with such a unique feature. However, the beauty of the building and the memories that it holds for our neighbors does not and should not take precedence over the education of our children,” wrote Theresa Gardella of Roseville.
“Sometimes in order to move great educational missions forward, spaces that no longer function (and that are unsafe and prohibitively expensive to repair) need to be demolished and replaced by new facilities that are more efficient and better designed with contemporary architectural knowledge about space and learning,” stated Kerten Warren of Roseville.
“I believe that historic preservation fails when it is used as a tactic to exclude or limit owners from their right to utilize or modify a property in a manner congruent with similar properties not deemed worthy of preservation,” wrote John Steingraeber of St. Paul.
“I live in St. Paul because its history and landmarks appeal to me,” wrote TCGIS parent Mike Mitchelson who lives along Como Lake. “But I also appreciate progress and the idea that neighborhoods—including historic ones—need new landmarks to continue their relevance and attract new generations of residents. The Como Lake area is such a neighborhood.”
Neighbor and TCGIS school parent Kyle Johnson who lives along Englewood is opposed to the request for historic designation. “The ‘neighbors’ have already taken resources from the school by making it look at alternatives,” he wrote. “That’s money that could have gone for books or teachers.”
In favor of preservation
The Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) received about 11 letters from people, most of them neighbors, who support the designation of St. Andrew’s as a heritage site.
Earlier this year, 600 people signed a petition asking that the school wait on expansion until June 2020 to provide time to review various options and to gather more concrete estimates for work needed on the building. School representatives have stated that it would be prohibitively expensive to update the old church building while neighbors argue the amount is part of regular maintenance fees and any repairs needed are much lower.
However, the school voted on July 30 to raze the structure and had initially scheduled partial demolition for early October, but after receiving pressure from the grassroots group Save Historic St. Andrews it agreed to wait until the summer of 2019.
Save Historic St. Andrew’s (SHSA) raised funds to complete a historic evaluation of the building that was designed by the city’s first architect, Charles Hausler, and then applied for heritage preservation on Oct. 1.
Murial Gubasta’s paternal great-grandparents, Coleman and Justina Horvath, immigrated to the Como Park neighborhood in 1900 and were among many other Hungarian immigrants who settled in the Warrendale neighborhood and contributed money to build the new St. Andrew Church building on Como Ave. They were married in the first church building in 1908, and their children attended school at St. Andrew’s. Gubasta was the fourth generation of her family to attend school there and was followed by her nephew as a fifth-generation student.
“There are several hundred other family stories that are similar to mine,” wrote Gubasta in a letter to the HPC. “Even though many of these proceeding generations have moved on it does not mean St. Andrew’s Church building no longer has historic and cultural value. To raze St. Andrew’s Church building is to destroy the rich, historic and cultural identity of this beautiful neighborhood in Como Park.”
SHSA member Kevin Anderson pointed out, “We have had a school in this neighborhood since 1920, and we value the vibrancy that it brings to our community. However, development by any institution or resident needs to take into consideration the essential character of the established neighborhood. I believe that the current expansion plan proposed by TCGIS is not consistent with the St. Paul Comprehensive Plan or congruent with the existing character of our neighborhood.”
According to SHSA member Steve Greenwood, “St. Andrews deserves historical designation, as it is comparable to Hausler’s other buildings on the National Register (St. Anthony Library, Riverview Library, Freedom Library, Minnesota Building, Minnesota Milk Building, and St. Mary’s in Hague ND). It is also comparable to the six District 10 buildings on the Register (Footbridge L-5853, Bridge 92247, Conservatory, Salvation Army Women’s Home, and Northern Pacific Railway Co. Como Shops), in terms of architectural beauty, design architect significance, social significance, and impact on the neighborhood.”
What makes it significant?
St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission, in its 8-1 decision for historic preservation, said the former church building is eligible for local designation under four of St. Paul’s Heritage Preservation criteria.
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, built in 1927 by the McGough Brothers, is architecturally significant as a well-designed example of the Romanesque Revival style. According to the HPC report, the church is not only significant in the Lake Como area, where it maintains a strong architectural presence, it is also among St. Paul’s most distinctive period revival style churches.
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church is also significant for its association with Charles A. Hausler, who served as the first city architect for the city of St. Paul and whose large and diverse body of work had an important impact on the city. (See related article on page 6)
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church is also historically significant as an important institution in the Lake Como area that became a community center for the working-class congregation that it served, according to the information reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission. The church served a community of Hungarian immigrants and is significant for its association with the Hungarian immigrant experience.
Another criterion is that its unique location or singular physical characteristic represents an established and familiar visual feature of a neighborhood, community, or the city of Saint Paul. According to the HPC report, the Warrendale neighborhood has a unique layout designed by H.W.S. Cleveland, as it is not a grid, but a curvilinear plan and St. Andrew’s Church is sited in a unique location within that plat.
Debate over 1983 preservation report
In deciding on the status of St. Andrew’s Church historic status, the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) cited a “1983 Historic Sites Survey of St. Paul and Ramsey County” that stated that St. Andrew’s Church was a “Site of Major Significance.”
Twin Cities German Immersion School officials noted that the documentation for that very same report did not list the church as a site “eligible for designation.” And, that in fact, the official “Historic Sites Survey” for the church done in 1981 clearly marked “no” for National Register potential, “no” for “local designation potential,” and “no” to “historic district potential.”
According to Christine Boulware, Historic Preservation Specialist for Planning and Economic Development, reports that are more than ten years old may contain important data, but that they are “out of date” and that new or updated information should be the primary focus.
“Effectively, the current nomination that was submitted for St. Andrew’s Church is the up-to-date information that an intensive level survey would provide and more,” Boulware said. “Thus, when the HPC reviewed the nomination at the Nov. 5 public hearing, they determined the site eligible for local designation based on the information provided in the nomination document.”

Land Use Committee approves variances

During a two-and-a-half hour-long meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 5, the District 10 Land Use Committee voted to approve three variances that the Twin Cities German Immersion School is seeking for its expansion.

There were over 200 people at the meeting. The committee recommended:

- 1 percent variance in lot coverage on a 100-74 vote. This will allow the school to increase its footprint to 36 percent of its property.

- 3-foot, 1-inch height variance on a 96-76 vote. This would allow the school addition to reach 33 feet, 1 inch. (The former St. Andrew’s Church is 47 feet at the peak of its roof, according to St. Paul staff report.)

- 37-space parking variance on a 101-76 vote. The school’s site plan accounts for only 50 of the 87 off-street parking spaces that are required by code. The school anticipates 26 spaces in the existing west parking lot, 15 spaces that will be leased from Mission Orthodox Presbyterian Church across the street, and 9 spaces that will be offset by additional bicycle parking. The 37 spaces that are unaccounted for likely would be absorbed by street parking in the surrounding residential blocks, or by staff taking alternate forms of transportation.

These recommendations now go on Dec. 18 to the full District 10 board, which can accept, reject, or modify the recommendations. The board will forward its recommendations to the St. Paul Planning Commission’s Zoning Committee on Dec. 20. That committee’s recommendations go to the full Planning Commission on Dec. 28.

Meet St. Andrew’s Church designer Charles A. Hausler

Hausler was St. Paul’s first city architect and drew from a range of styles during a distinguished career

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
St. Andrew’s Church was designed by a prolific and creative architect known for his diverse range of styles and high-quality designs.
Charles A. Hausler (photo right at age 20 provided) was born in St. Paul and left an indelible imprint on the city he lived in for all but a few years of his life.
“He was a son of St. Paul,” observed his granddaughter Jennie Hausler, who resides in Miami, Fla. “A visionary ahead of his time.”
Decided to be an architect at age 16
Hausler grew up in the W. Seventh St. neighborhood, the son of a German immigrant. He attended Adams Elementary School, Mechanic Arts High School, and the St. Paul School of Fine Arts. As a boy, he pedaled newspapers.
At 16, he decided to become an architect and began an apprenticeship with Clarence H. Johnston of St. Paul. He then apprenticed with several other major architects in the region including Harry Wild Jones in Minneapolis and Louis Sullivan in Chicago.
His apprenticeship with Sullivan is particularly notable as Sullivan is considered the father of the modern skyscraper and he exerted an important influence on a group of architects who practiced in what became known as the Prairie style, according to a St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission staff report.
Hausler was drawn back to St. Paul from Chicago and began to practice first with Peter Linhoff and then William Alban. Alban and Hausler designed some notable buildings in St. Paul including St. Anthony Park Methodist Episcopal Church (1911-1912) and Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation (1913), both designed in the Gothic Revival style. The firm also designed the Prairie style Knox Presbyterian Church (1912-14).
In addition to being an architect, Hausler was also a structural engineer, pointed out his granddaughter, J. Hausler.
Named St. Paul’s first city architect at age 25
At just 25 years old, Hausler was appointed St. Paul’s first city architect (1914).
One of his initial assignments was to serve as the supervising architect for the James J. Hill Reference Library. He also wrote the city’s first building code. Later, as a senator, he appointed a council to revise the code and bring it up to modern standards.
During his tenure, numerous municipal facilities were designed in his office, including schools, branch libraries, fire stations, and park buildings.
Hausler designed the William L. Ames School (1915) and the Como Park Elementary School (1916), both classically inspired buildings. He also designed the Randolph Heights School (1916), which features elements from the Mission Revival style.
While her grandfather was a man of great humility who always shared praise with others, he was also “proud of what he did,” remarked J. Hausler. During a recent tour of St. Paul schools, J. Hausler looked for where her grandfather had signed his name on the buildings, including the cornerstone at Como Park Elementary and an alcove near the door at Randolph Heights Elementary.
Photo left: St. Paul’s first city architect, Charles A. Hausler, designed numerous churches and buildings in St. Paul during his distinguished career, including St. Andrew’s Church. He is shown here with his granddaughter, Jennie Hausler, who spoke about her grandfather’s contributions to the city of St. Paul and the Warrendale neighborhood during the Heritage Preservation Commission meeting on Nov. 5, 2018. (Photo provided)
Hausler designed three branch libraries for the city, St. Anthony Park, Arlington Hills, and Riverview. The three classically inspired buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He also designed the Mounds Park Pavilion (1916).
Every one of her grandfather’s designs were unique and innovative, observed J. Hausler.
In 1915, Hausler hired Clarence “Cap” Wigington as the office’s senior draftsman. Wigington was an African-American architect who grew up in Omaha, Neb. Today, Wigington is recognized as the nation’s first black municipal architect. Buildings he designed include the Harriet Island Pavilion, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and Highland Park Tower. Hausler also appointed a second African American architect named William Godette in 1919.
Plus, her grandfather treated women well, and rather than seclude them to a corner, he welcomed them at the draftsmen table in the middle of the room, pointed out J. Hausler.
Senator 1922-1939
Even while he was employed as city architect, Hausler maintained a private practice. One of his partners was Percy Dwight Bentley, who along with Hausler was also a notable practitioner of the Prairie style. The partnership produced a number of finely crafted Prairie style residences in St. Paul including the Frank and Rosa Seifert House (1914) and the Albert Wunderlich House (1915). Hausler also designed his own house (1917) in the Prairie style.
Innovative features in one home included a dehumidifier and there was an early form of air conditioning in a funeral home he designed.
“He was a man who was way ahead of his time,” stated J. Hausler.
Her grandfather always had two jobs, J. Hausler observed. With his German heritage, “he came from a strong work ethic,” she said.
Hausler resigned from his position as city architect in 1922 when he was elected to the state legislature. He represented St. Paul in the Senate, starting as a progressive Republican and ending up as a member of the Farmer-Labor party. Hausler left the Minnesota Senate in 1939 to resume his career in architecture full-time and continued working into his 70s.
Important clients
The Catholic Church was a very important client for Hausler. He designed dozens of churches, schools, convents, and rectories for the Catholic Church, which are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. His most notable designs include St. Boniface Church (1929) in Minneapolis, St. Joseph’s Church (1929) in Owatonna, and St. Mary’s Church (1930) in Hague, N.D., which is listed on the National Register and is referred to as “the jewel of the prairie.”
Stylistically, these later churches typically featured the Romanesque Revival style, rather than the Gothic style that was common for Hausler’s early church designs.
In 1929, Hausler designed the Minnesota Building in downtown St. Paul. The building is considered the first in the Twin Cities to employ the Art Deco style and is listed on the National Register. Hausler was always concerned about fire safety and pushed for the use of concrete materials at the Minnesota Building, stated J. Hausler.
Hausler also designed a new Art Deco style façade for the Minnesota Milk Company Building on University Ave., which is also listed on the National Register.
Hausler’s architectural practice extended far beyond St. Paul. He designed schools, churches, and commercial buildings throughout the region. According to H. Allen Brooks, who wrote “The Prairie School: Frank Lloyd Wright and His Midwest Contemporaries,” Hausler was “an excellent public relations man and was particularly persuasive with school boards.” He designed schools in Minnesota communities that included Tracy, Fulda, Farmington, Buhl, and Greenbush.
Designs as artwork

During his time in the legislature, Hausler continued to practice architecture, and it was during this time that St. Andrew’s Church was constructed in 1927. Hausler’s design for St. Andrew’s draws its inspiration from a variation of the Romanesque style that developed in southern France and northern Italy, which is characterized by complex designs and colorful ornament. At the time of its construction, the building was described as Byzantine, a style that preceded the Romanesque. Design elements in St. Andrew’s that reflect this style include the interior spatial arrangement in the form of a Greek cross and the interior groin vaults.
“As a structural engineer, he built this building to last,” stated his granddaughter J. Hausler.
He also factored in the characteristics of each community where he designed buildings, she pointed out, and St. Andrew’s was no exception. “If they want to demolish this church, I don’t think it’d be for the benefit of the community,” J. Hausler said.
Hausler didn’t do anything that was boilerplate. “This church is absolutely gorgeous,” said J. Hausler. “You could come back every day for a week, and you’d see something new. He surprises you.” She pointed to the six different types of brick used and the other whimsical components designed into the building.
“If you take a look at his other churches, this stands apart,” J. Hausler said. She added, “His architectural designs are artwork.”
Hausler died in St. Paul on July 12, 1971.

Article printed in the December 2018 Como/Midway Monitor.