Originally published in the Park Bugle, September 2026.
For 50 years, Seal Hi-Rise has stood above the corner of Raymond Avenue and Territorial Road in South St. Anthony Park.
At 14 stories, it is the tallest building in St. Anthony Park. Inside are 144 one-bedroom apartments. But after half a century, Seal’s story is about much more than a building.
It is about the people who have called it home – and the neighborhood that has grown and changed around it.
Built in 1976 at 825 Seal Street, Seal Hi-Rise is owned and operated by the Saint Paul Public Housing Agency. The building was designed as affordable housing with accessibility in mind and has provided homes for older adults, people with disabilities, and other eligible residents for five decades.
Seal also arrived during an important period in the history of South St. Anthony Park.
The decades surrounding its construction brought enormous change. Highway 280 displaced homes and residents, while industrial uses continued to shape much of the area around University and Raymond avenues. Neighborhood residents were working to preserve South St. Anthony Park as a place where people could continue to live, not simply work or pass through.
Longtime neighborhood accounts remember Seal Hi-Rise and nearby affordable housing on Hampden Avenue as part of that story – new housing replacing industrial properties and helping maintain a residential presence in South St. Anthony Park.
Fifty years later, that residential community is still here.
“For me, Seal isn’t just a building in South St. Anthony Park – it’s home,” said Melissa Pappas, a Seal resident, SAPCC Equity Committee co-chair, and member of the Community Council. “People here have watched this neighborhood change for years, and they have their own stories, friendships, and connections to this community. Celebrating 50 years means celebrating the people who have made this place home.”
Those connections extend beyond the walls of the building.
Just a few blocks away, the SAP Community Garden has maintained a longstanding relationship with Seal residents. Gardeners and volunteers continue to grow and deliver fresh produce for neighbors at the Hi-Rise throughout the growing season.
That tradition continues today. Three plots at the Community Garden are specifically set aside to grow produce for people living at Seal Hi-Rise.
“There’s something special about food grown by neighbors ending up on the tables of neighbors just a few blocks away,” said Bobby McPherson, SAPCC Associate Director. “It’s practical, but it’s also about connection. That’s a relationship the garden and SAPCC are proud to continue.”
Over the years, those relationships have taken other forms too.
Community meals, resident gatherings, holiday activities, fresh produce deliveries, and neighborhood events have created opportunities for people inside and outside Seal to spend time together.
Earlier this August, that connection moved outdoors when SAPCC’s Equity Committee joined Seal residents, neighbors in the nearby townhomes, and others living along Seal Street for National Night Out.
The gathering was intentionally local. The idea was simple: bring together people who may live only a few doors or buildings apart but don’t always have a reason to meet.
That work builds on years of neighborhood connection. SAPCC has worked with residents and community partners around food access, transportation, public spaces, and opportunities to reduce isolation. In 2021, for example, SAPCC Transportation Committee volunteers helped create a colorful street mural and pedestrian improvements near Seal intended to strengthen the walking connection between the Hi-Rise and Raymond Station.
And through all of those changes, Seal has remained a constant presence on the South St. Anthony Park skyline.
Today the building sits close to Raymond Avenue businesses, University Avenue, the Green Line, the University of Minnesota, and a part of the neighborhood that continues to experience significant redevelopment and investment.
“Fifty years is worth celebrating,” said Zev Radziwill, SAPCC Executive Director. “Seal has been part of South St. Anthony Park through decades of change. But what makes the anniversary meaningful isn’t just that the building has stood here for 50 years. It’s that people have built lives, friendships, and community here for 50 years.”
That may be the most important part of Seal’s story.
Buildings can be measured in floors and apartments – 14 and 144, in this case.
But 50 years is better measured in people.
It’s the residents who have watched South St. Anthony Park change outside their windows. The neighbors who have shared meals in the community room. The gardeners who have carried fresh vegetables through the doors. The friendships formed in hallways, elevators, and around tables. The people who have made an apartment into a home.
This September, the neighborhood has an opportunity to celebrate all of that.
Seal Hi-Rise 50th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, September 4 | 1:30-4:00 p.m.
825 Seal Street | South St. Anthony Park
Whether you live at Seal, have volunteered there, shared a meal, delivered produce, know someone who calls it home, or simply recognize the tower that has stood over Raymond Avenue for half a century, neighbors are invited to join the celebration.
For 50 years, Seal Hi-Rise has been one of the most recognizable landmarks in South St. Anthony Park.
More importantly, it has been home.