House & Home

Building for the

Future Chapter by Greg Buehner

In May 2019, the Delta Omega (Texas A&M) Housing Corporation was at a crossroads. Its chapter house had become undesirable to the membership, sustained low occupancy, and needed a significant remodel to be relevant to today’s college students. Then, on behalf of a sorority, a third-party developer offered a price for the property the housing corporation couldn’t— and didn’t—refuse.

In the summer of 2019, the chapter celebrated its 40th anniversary with an uncertain future for its housing plans. The alumni were determined to create a plan that would propel Delta Omega into a leading chapter locally and nationally. Then, March 2020 arrived, and the COVID-19 pandemic hit college campuses across the country.

Despite these challenges, the leadership pushed forward. Housing

corporation officers Blake Virgilio, Doug Doughty and Jason Mills considered many locations for the new house. With the help of Justin Whitworth, an alumnus and local commercial real estate professional, the corporation identified two parcels at 6124 Raymond Stotzer Parkway as the ideal site for a new chapter home development project.

The housing corporation approached Pi Kappa Phi Properties to collaborate and lead the planning and execution of the project. Project Manager Jay Stuckel, Beta Epsilon (Missouri), led the alumni through a planning process to determine what was possible and realistic given mounting construction costs and development challenges. “Working with Jay was a great experience,” said Mills.

“Not only was his leadership and vast experience in the construction industry invaluable to the success of the project, but his dedication to the project’s completion was evident throughout.”

All parties worked together to focus on building a chapter home for “the next 40 years” of Delta Omega’s history. The team knew this needed to be a destination site for students, alumni, and friends of the fraternity while being a relevant living space for today’s college student. In October 2020, construction officially launched, and the property was complete in time for the fall 2021 semester and recruitment season.

The site comprises two buildings— the Sullivan Residence and the Robertson Lodge. The Sullivan Residence is named for Delta Omega alumnus and past National President Dr. Tom Sullivan. It was designed for the residential element of the

Delta Omega's Robertson Lodge Delta Omega's gate is modeled after the Memorial Gate.

The Delta Omega property includes the Sullivan Residence, Robertson Lodge and plenty of parking for residents and guests.

chapter operation with 20 single rooms and bath space. A dedicated chapter room sits at the rear of the building to allow the chapter to hold meetings in a respectful, professional manner. The Robertson Lodge is named for Delta Omega alumnus Brian K. Robertson and supports a separate meeting and social space for chapter and alumni functions. The property has ample parking space for members and guests to support the growing chapter experience at Texas A&M.

A replica of the Pi Kappa Phi Memorial Gate at the College of Charleston bridges the residence and the lodge. “It was important for Delta Omega to recognize our deep connection with the national fraternity and bring a bit of history into our new chapter site,” said Mills.

To support the elevated building costs due to the pandemic and subsequent supply shortages, Dr. Sullivan worked with the alumni to launch a capital campaign that raised over $450,000 to fund the project and supplement the proceeds from the sale of the former chapter house. “Delta Omega has over 1,000 alumni, but we only have about 900 with good contact information. From that pool of 900, 30% contributed to the campaign! The alumni truly stepped up,” said Sullivan.

In addition to funds from the capital campaign, Pi Kappa Phi Properties secured financing with a third-party lender and used funds from the Eric J. Almquist Housing Investment Fund and Stephen P. DePalma Infrastructure Loan Fund to finish the project.

The chapter officially dedicated the new chapter lodge and residence on Oct. 16, 2021, with many alumni, families, and friends attending the event. Stephen Schirmer—who served as Archon for two years during the period of planning and moving into the new facility—noted, “Working with our alumni and Pi Kappa Phi Properties has been one of the most fulfilling experiences as Archon.”

“Selling our house and leaving sorority row was difficult for our chapter over those two years, and

it tested our commitment to the chapter and each other. I’m so proud we kept the brotherhood united, continued to recruit, and came out stronger on the other side!” Schirmer added.

In the following months, Pi Kappa Phi alumni groups have noted the successful planning and execution that went into the project. Delta Omega hopes its experience over the past four years can serve as an example to help other alumni chapters and housing corporations take a step forward and invest in the future of fraternity on their campuses.

Looking back on the entire endeavor, Mills reflected, “This was a dream in the making for over four decades. I believe our design could easily serve as a template for future projects. We ‘broke the mold’ in terms of the traditional fraternity house design and combined it with a lodge approach to create a very functional hybrid facility that can meet the chapter’s needs on many levels for many decades to come.”