Why now?

The House Corporation created a Campaign Committee to oversee the project.

 To provide clean, safe, and affordable housing for our collegiate Brothers. 

Five years of research, including a structural analysis, feasibility study, environment scan, and undergraduate surveying. 

The cost to renovate our home would be greater than rebuilding it.

100% of alumni support a capital campaign and 92% support a rebuild. 

Greek life remains popular at USD, but the supply for fraternity housing outweighs demand. Although the average fraternity house has capacity for 33 residents, an average of only 22 have lived in based upon 15 year community averages.

Collegiates have different needs in a fraternity house. Specifically, there is reduced interest in in-house dining, multi-resident bedrooms, communal bathrooms, and multi-year leases. 

Our new home is designed to look and feel like the house we all know. On an expanded corner lot, our home will stretch further south, eliminating the need for a costly third floor. The exterior style will remain Tudor, although the interior will be refreshed with modern amenities and fixtures. The home will have capacity for 27 and is designed to incentivize community and attract serious students through small bedrooms, commons areas, and quiet study space. 

Freshman cannot live in a fraternity house due to Board of Regents policy and, in general, collegiates are not interested in living in after age 21. As a result, our new home has been intentionally designed for sophomores and officers. There is an opportunity to install bunkbeds in some rooms, should demand exceed supply.

Class schedules overlap with traditional mealtimes and, during the 2019-2020 school year, over 60% of the chapter worked over 20 hours per week. 

The most significant changes to operating costs will affect property tax and insurance. Property tax is expected to climb most dramatically, to an estimated $20,000 per annum. 

Individual resident costs are expected to increase by $200-300 a semester, remaining well below all other student housing options, excluding freshman dorms. 

Through scholarship support. Lambda Chi Alpha offers roughly $28,000 in scholarship support per year, nearly five times that of the next fraternity. This figure is expected to increase by 3-6% each year, not including donor support. 

The House Corporation will investigate various on-campus (dorm floors) and off-campus (houses) options during the year that construction is expected to require. 

Contributions are managed by the House Corporation’s Finance & Investment Committee with support from the Educational Foundation. 

Partially. Upon request, a donor may deduct a maximum of 25% of their total contribution to the campaign. However, non-deductible contributions are highly encouraged. 

We accept gifts of securities and various forms of bequests. Upon request, we will also consider in-kind contributions as well as tangible assets and real estate. 

The active chapter is charged monthly for rent, regardless of the number of residents. If occupancy maximum is not reached, the active chapter may increase individual rent. 

While this is not anticipated, fraternities are typically allowed to return to campus 3-4 years after closure. In this extreme scenario, the Housing Corporation would rent the property to individual students or another student group until our chapter is recolonized.