4A
Wednesday, August 16, 1995
CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Construction continues at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house, 111.1 W, 11th St., where $1 million in renovations are being completed. Construction is expected to be finished before the spring semester begins.
Richard Devinki/
KANSAN
Delta Tau Delta begins $1 million in renovations
By Dan Lara
Kansan staff writer
After three years of planning, $1 million in renovations are underway at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house, 1111 W. 11th St.
The house is receiving a completely new interior, including a library expansion, a larger computer room and a bigger area for senior activities, said Matt Leonard, Prairie Village senior and house president.
"The older section of the house wasn't livable anymore," Leonard said. "And we were competing with other fraternities that have been renovated in the last five years."
Fraternity members cannot live in the house, which was built in the 1920s, until the renovations have been completed. The renovations are scheduled to be completed before the spring semester starts, Leonard said.
Leonard said the biggest problem for house members — about 85 of them — was finding temporary housing.
Many apartment complexes didn't have the needed number of rooms, and some didn't want fraternity members living together in their buildings, he said.
ficult finding places to live. A lot of apartments weren't willing to work with us."
But the members finally found a home at Shannon Plaza Apartments and Townhomes, 2100 Heatherwood Drive, and Sundance Apartments, Seventh and Florida streets.
"Luckily we found Sundance," said David Robinson, Overland Park senior and the fraternity's rush chairman. "Shannon Plaza gave us a six-month lease, and Sundance gave us a four-and-a-half month lease."
To help pay for construction, the fraternity hired a fund-raising company to ask alumni for donations, Leonard said. The company sent
out flyers and contacted alumni by telephone.
"We got a good response," he said. "We're still looking for more donations.
"We hope to pay off the construction costs in a couple of years."
So far, alumni have provided about half of the $1 million needed. Gene Fritzel Construction, 628 Vermont St., is the builder. The company also worked on the Delta Upson house, where members are moving back this fall.
In addition to alumni's money, Leonard said, current members have pledged to pay between $500 and $1,000 once they graduate to help finance the renovations.
Fraternity to repair former Acacia house
By Laurie Hudson Kansan staff writer
When five Phi Kappa Tau fraternity alumni members meet with a carpenter on Saturday, they could hammer out a plan that would mean a new house for their undergraduate members.
This year, the 35-member fraternity once again must pack into the rooms of the house at 1232 Ohio St. However, thanks to two fundraisers by alumni, the fraternity has enough money to start renovating a roomier house at 11th and
though structurally sound, needs an estimated $700,000 in plumbing, carpentry and electrical work, said Phil Harrison, one of the alumni members overseeing the work.
If renovations are pounded out on schedule, students could be banging clothes and
brothers. You can't go off and hide in your room."
The fraternity houses 20 of its 35 members, which means that more than 40 percent of its members hold keys to apartments and townhouses around Lawrence.
"Our size has capped at this house," he said. "We've outgrown it."
Chris Cruce, Leavenworth senior, said a more spacious house would open the doors to the fraternity's 65-person membership goal.
setting up stereos in its rooms next fall, Harrison said.
One disadvantage to leaving the house is that a new house won't hold sentimental value for alumni.
"We've got all our fingers crossed," said Juan Heath, Paola junior, whose current 10-by-12 foot room holds Heath, his roommate, their beds and all their belongings.
"We've got everything stacked in there pretty tight," Heath said. "If one thing falls, it's like a domino effect."
"I really like it that everyone is so close together and that we have no choice but to get to know each other," he said. "It forces new members to get to know their
Although members may touch shoulders when they pass in the hallways, a small house has its advantages. Heath said.
neighborhood.
Heath said he looked forward to living near other fraternity houses and Memorial Stadium. The house near the stadium used to be the Acacia fraternity house before the group left campus in 1993. The current Phi Kappa Tau house is in a residential
"We're off the beaten path," he said. "This will improve our visibility on campus."
The Ohio street house has been the home of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity since the fall of 1988. Before that, each floor of the building was rented out as an apartment — some students' bedrooms are in the old kitchens. They have sinks in their rooms and use the cupboards for dressers, Cruce said.
Another quirk about the three-story house is that there is no indoor staircase. The members joke, Craue said, that the first few times they head for their bedrooms, in the newly renovated house, they instinctively will walk to the fire escape.