Editorial counterpoint: St. Thomas does work with its neighbors

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As an institution that earnestly tries to live by its mantra of “All for the Common Good,” the University of St. Thomas fully agrees with the headline of the April 29 editorial “St. Thomas needs to work with neighbors.” And as we just held our 18th public meeting to discuss arena plans with our neighbors, we remain committed to continuing to do so.

Many of our neighbors have expressed excitement about the vitality and economic development our multipurpose arena will bring to St. Paul. This new source of economic development will build on a strong foundation, as St. Thomas already generates $800 million of economic impact annually for the Twin Cities metro area. Our commitment to the common good includes continuing to work with willing neighbors and incorporating feasible ideas to improve arena plans. Our neighborhood dialogues have led to several changes to our plans, and input on traffic and parking continues to shape our work on those key issues.

We are blessed with a beautiful location in the middle of a vibrant and changing city. Since its founding in 1885, St. Thomas has brought young people to St. Paul who stay and contribute to our community. The university has taken numerous steps to make operational changes over the years that create opportunities for students while strengthening neighborhood relations. The most important recent change has been a two-year residency requirement for first- and second-year students to live on campus, a change implemented in 2021 for which we received positive feedback from neighbors. Additionally, we have built new residence halls and now have nearly 3,000 of our roughly 6,000 undergraduate students living on campus — the highest number in our 140-year history (far from being “predominantly a campus of commuters,” as described in the editorial).

As part of our goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, the mid-sized arena is designed with sustainability as a priority. The planned construction includes improving the water infrastructure to treat runoff and add further protection to the Mississippi River, adding more green space to campus and promoting more transit options for our students and visitors. Information that addresses environmental concerns (as well as others) can be found online at tinyurl.com/ust-arena.

St. Thomas has been changing for 140 years. We will continue to evolve and adapt, as will the city of St. Paul. We think that’s a good thing. We agree we must work with our neighbors — that is what we have been doing and will continue to do. But it’s a fair ask for our neighbors to also be willing to work with us vs. simply demanding we build an arena elsewhere or not build it at all. We share just as strong a desire as the neighbors who simply want to ensure the arena does not diminish our shared quality of life through parking or traffic hassles. After all, we live and work here, too. The university — in collaboration with the city — is confident in our plans for this new arena, and confident in the vitality it will bring to both the student experience on campus and to the broader community.

Rob Vischer is president of the University of St. Thomas.