The Theta Chi men have moved into their third house at the University of Alabama. The University granted the fraternity their first house, located on the northeast corner of the quad in 1926. Due to expansion in the 60’s, the men moved to fraternity row on Jefferson Avenue where they lived in their second house for 50 years.
After a long 50 years, a new house became a necessity in order to house the active members and maintain the growing size of the chapter. Though the old house was historical and memorable, it was time to upgrade in size. When the new houses started to go up on University Boulevard, it created a new movement and fad. The men sought the opportunity to move to the newest version of fraternity row on University Boulevard.
Theta Chi started by selling the house on Jefferson Avenue to help pay for the construction. Additionally, with the help of financing and alumni donations, the new beautiful fraternity house was built in a year.
The Theta Chi mansion is over 24,000 square feet. It has the same layout as the older house, but doubled in size. The house has two floors that house 39 brothers. There are 36 bedrooms on the top floor and 3 single rooms on the bottom. The upstairs is equipped with two bathrooms that contain 15 shower heads total. Aunt Kathy, the Theta Chi housemother, was also given her very own bedroom suite. The men were proud to provide her with the space that they believe she deserves.
One of the most important parts of a fraternity house is the space used for social events: the band room. Theta Chi’s newest edition is twice the size of the old one. It is even equipped with a projector to watch movies, TV and Alabama football. The dining room and kitchen are significantly larger, and the kitchen upgrades allow the staff to accommodate the 150 members and new members. Lastly, what would a fraternity house be without a secret chapter room? The new house indeed has a secret room for the brothers to continue their traditions and important meetings.
With a new house that has doubled the size of the old one, their membership dues have not noticeably increased. The President of Theta Chi, John Anderson stated, “Membership dues have not gone up much, but rent has significantly increased. We have a full house, so the rent increase does not seem to be an issue.”
When a fraternity house is full, the costs of the house such as the mortgage do not have to be paid for by members that don't live in the house. An increase in membership dues comes when a fraternity house is empty because the lost rent has to be made up for in increased dues. However, as Anderson stated, Theta Chi luckily does not have this problem.
Now that the brothers are moved into the new house this Fall, they have a lot of adjusting to do. Moving into a new house is an exciting bond that the members get to experience. Though they have not been in the house for long, Anderson mentioned, “The new house has brought a renewed commitment to the fraternity among the brothers. Once our new members get initiated we will have over 140 active brothers, which is significantly more than in past years. Members are closer and more social across pledge classes, and our retention rate for juniors and seniors is the highest it has been in 4 years.”
Overall, the men of Theta Chi are proud to continue their tradition at the Capstone and growth as a fraternity. Having this new edition will increase the value of the strong relationships these men seem to already have.
