Minnesota Supreme Court refuses to hear St. Thomas’ arena appeal, construction continues

St. Paul

Crews keep working while public reviews revised environmental assessment.

By James Walsh

When the Minnesota Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal by the University of St. Thomas regarding the environmental impact of its new hockey and basketball arena under construction, neighbor and arena foe Dan Kennedy said the “ethical” thing for the university to do was stop construction until neighbor concerns are addressed.

Not going to happen, university officials said Thursday.

While a public review of a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues through Nov. 7, construction of the 5,000-seat Lee and Penny Anderson Arena continues. In an email Thursday, a university spokesman said the arena is expected to be completed in fall 2025.

“The University of St. Thomas is aware of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to deny its petition to appeal and is reviewing the potential impacts of this decision,” an emailed statement from St. Thomas said. “Last week, the City of St. Paul published an updated EAW for public comment, and that process will continue. Construction of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena will also continue, as permitted by law.”

But Kennedy, the president of Advocates for Responsible Development, said he believes that decision is not only wrong, but illegal. Because the state Court of Appeals this summer ruled the project’s first environmental review was inadequate, its site plans and building permits are invalid, he argues.

“We need somebody to specifically tell the University of St. Thomas that they must comply with the law,” Kennedy said. “This is an institution of higher learning, with a law school. They should comply with the law.”

Kennedy said he thought the Minnesota Court of Appeals had insisted on exactly that. In August, the appellate court ordered the city and university to conduct a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The previous assessment didn’t do enough to study the arena’s potential harm to the neighborhood’s parking, traffic and air quality, the court ruled.

It added that the city needed to require concrete steps to mitigate any potential harm. The city released an updated Environmental Assessment Worksheet a week ago.

On Thursday, university spokesman Bryce Butzer said in an email that officials are confident that the revised assessment meets those requirements.

Asked to comment, Jennifer Lor, a spokeswoman in Mayor Melvin Carter’s office, would only confirm in a statement that the public comment period for the new assessment continues until 4 p.m. Nov. 7.

For months, neighbors of the university’s south campus have argued that the city and university have brushed off their concerns about gameday traffic jams and parking woes — never mind the exhaust from vehicles trolling the neighborhood for a place to park. The university has no plans to add parking, officials have said.

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Construction of the $183.4 million arena, which is being built on St. Thomas’ south campus and will house practice courts, a second ice sheet, locker rooms and offices, paused briefly this year after neighbors voiced objections. Work resumed early this summer.

In Thursday interview, an exasperated Kennedy didn’t sound completely sure of his group’s next steps. “The city,” he said, “should issue a stop-work order. Absent that? The most logical path would be asking a court to intervene — again.”

James Walsh is a reporter covering St. Paul and its neighborhoods. He has had myriad assignments in more than 30 years at the Star Tribune, including federal courts and St. Paul schools.

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