minneapolis

A Hennepin County district judge has rejected a request to block the demolition of a former church in the Phillips community.

Judge Herbert Lefler rejected a request for a temporary injunction filed by the nonprofit Alliance of Historian Activists. It asked that the Olivet Methodist Episcopal Church building, which has stood at 724 E. 26th St. since 1909, be spared.

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota bought the property in July and wants to use it for a parking ramp that will be part of an expansion plan.

Lefler ruled that it's unlikely that the historians' group will be able to show that the city didn't follow its regulations in approving a demolition permit.

Jennifer McDonald, attorney for those seeking the injunction, called the ruling disappointing. She said that the group is considering other legal options.

STEVE BRANDT