ST. PAUL — Preservationists and others who have worked to save a historic church in St. Paul have lost an appeal and are lamenting its demise.

The former St. Andrew’s Catholic Church has been an anchor in the Como Park neighborhood for nearly a century. But now plans to demolish it can begin because those who fought to save it were unable to provide a $1.9 million bond to the Twin Cities German Immersion School, or have it waived. The school owns the church and plans to raze it in order to construct a new addition.

The Star Tribune reports the Minnesota Court of Appeals decision on Tuesday left many neighbors distraught about losing a neighborhood mainstay whose architecture and history are rooted in the immigrants who attended the church.

School officials hope to begin razing the 92-year-old church next week.