Despite legal agreements between the University of St. Thomas and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the land that makes up the university campus will likely not be affected by the Archdiocese’s bankruptcy case because the Archdiocese owns no land related to the school, said Sara Gross Methner, St. Thomas’ general counsel.

St. John Vianney Seminary, St. Paul Seminary and St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity are all related to the Archdiocese’s functioning, but it does not own any of them.

“Legally, they’re separate entities, but they’ve had relationships,” Gross Methner said.

The Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015 as a way to settle clergy sex abuse claims.

North Campus

St. Thomas owns all the land bordered by Selby, Summit, Cretin and Cleveland avenues. This includes the land underneath St. John Vianney Seminary, used for undergraduate priestly formation. The SJV building is owned by the seminary itself, not St. Thomas or the Archdiocese.

“The SJV building is subject to … the agreement between St. Thomas and SJV, so that’s really not related to the archdiocese,” Gross Methner said.

Although the Archdiocese is the authority on priestly formation at SJV, it does not own the building, so SJV’s property is not involved in bankruptcy process.

Land by South Campus

St. Thomas owns part of the land bordered by Mississippi River Boulevard and Cretin, Summit and Goodrich avenues, making up South Campus. The St. Paul Seminary owns the remaining part.

The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, located on Seminary land, is a “school of the university established through an affiliation agreement among St. Thomas, SPS and the Archdiocese,” Gross Methner said. The Archdiocese, though the ultimate authority on priestly matters there, does not own it.

The Byrne Residence building is owned by the Archdiocese and sits on SPS land, according to a memorandum of agreement among St. Thomas, SPS and the Archdiocese from May 1995. The Archdiocese uses the building at 60 Mississippi River Blvd. as a residence for elderly priests.

The Archdiocese has a 99-year ground lease on the land, said Joe Kueppers, chancellor for civil affairs at the Archdiocese, who spoke to TommieMedia in October 2016.

Such a lease length is common, Kueppers said, and it will expire in 2094.

“That would be the reasonable use, reasonable lifespan of the building,” he said.

In October, Kueppers did not comment on the possibility that the Archdiocese might use the Byrne lease to settle its claims, citing attorney-client confidentiality. But he did say that even if the Archdiocese were to vacate the building, the Archdiocese would still have to spend money housing those retired and semi-retired priests.

“(It) wouldn’t generate any more income for the Archdiocese,” Kueppers said in October. “We have an obligation to take care of the priests, and we’d have to probably find somewhere else for them to live.”

If the Archdiocese no longer wanted the Byrne Residence, St. Paul Seminary would still own the land underneath it and have the first option to buy the building, according to the memorandum of agreement.

As a result of the Archdiocese bankruptcy, the landscape of the St. Thomas campus shouldn’t change too much if at all.

“The Archdiocese doesn’t own any land down there,” Kueppers said. “None. Zero.”

Elena Neuzil can be reached at neuz3833@stthomas.edu.