The UA Board of Trustees approved the Alpha Delta Pi sorority’s proposal to renovate their home on Oakland Avenue next summer so members will have a place to do philanthropic, social and academic projects while bonding within their sisterhood, said the president of the Alpha Delta Pi Delta Delta chapter housing corporation.
This renovation will add new study spaces, a larger meeting room and redesign the kitchen, as well as update the systems and elements within the house such as windows, air conditioning and the mechanical system, said Jay Huneycutt, director of Planning and Design at Facilities Management .
The local Alpha Delta Pi house corporation is responsible for raising the $9 million dollars needed for the project, said Charlotte Taylor, president of the Alpha Delta Pi Delta Delta chapter housing corporation. There are seven alumni members and 3 collegiate members on the board, of which Taylor is the president, she said.
Construction is scheduled to begin June 2019 and end by July 2020, in time for sorority recruitment week, Huneycutt said.
Before construction can begin officials must approve the final plans and hire contractors within the targeted budget, Huneycutt said.
“There is also the competition element, and we want to be sure that we are doing what needs to be done so our chapter can be up there with the rest of them,” Taylor said.
After interviewing several candidates, the Board of Trustees recommended four different architectural firms and five different construction managers and general contracting companies, according to the meeting agenda.
Contractors will consider the history and architectural design of the current Alpha Delta Pi house as the sorority expands. They will not change the outside of the house so that it keeps its historical value, Huneycutt said.
“We think we have the most beautiful house on campus, and we want to keep our historical look and keep with the English Tudor revival architecture style,” Taylor said. “It’s unique among the university houses and we want to play upon that.”
Designers will keep with the traditional cobblestone and arched windows, Huneycutt said.
The renovations are happening on the lower level so “the building itself will look the same as you drive by, but it will be expanded underground,” Huneycutt said.
While construction is underway, none of the members can live inside the house, Huneycutt said.
“Our plan is to move out in May 2019, and we are just beginning that process to see if they want to live all together on campus or in an apartment around town,” Taylor said.
Because Alpha Delta Pi moved into their current home in the 1950s, additions like an elevator will make the building fully code and ADA-compliant for the first time, according to the Capital Project Proposal Form submitted by Alpha Delta Pi to the Board of Trustees.
Alpha Delta Pi is seizing the opportunity to become more energy efficient, Huneycutt said. The new mechanical system, which controls the elevator, will operate on low energy while performing with high efficiency, helping to make the house more cost-effective.
Taylor does not think the construction will disrupt traffic on Oakland Street, but the alleyway behind the Alpha Delta Pi house might be a challenge, he said.
Alpha Delta Pi is using the space and materials they already have and working to make the house as energy efficient as possible with the money available, Huneycutt said.
Although the house will expand, the bed count will remain the same at 68, Huneycutt said.
“We want it to be very livable but not so big that people can’t get to know each other,” Taylor said. “We want to make it a home, not like a hotel or dormitory. We want it to feel like a home.”