New Housing for Pi Alpha!
 

Miss Chris will probably be most excited by this.... (Hi Chris!)

I wanted to give you a quick update on the AOII housing situation at UofL after the recent GTF (Greek Task Force) meeting. AOII has selected suite B in the new housing complex!

I hope you are all as excited as we are! This is a great opportunity for the future of Pi Alpha Chapter. To put AOII on equal footing with the other panhellenic sororities is a project almost 25 years in the making and we are finally in the home stretch.

We are scheduled to move into our new space in August 2006. Over the next few months we will be meeting to nail down some of the details and things will really begin to take shape.

The 'groundbreaking' ceremony is scheduled for Thursday April 21 at 3:30. If any of you are in the area, you are welcome to attend.

The latest available renditions of the suite layouts, elevations and exterior views are online at

http://www.louisville.edu/student/vp...munitypark.htm

FYI: The locations chosen by all the groups are:

Suite A: Kappa Delta

Suite B: Alpha Omicron Pi

Suite C: NPHC

Suite D: Tau Kappa Epsilon

Suite E: Pi Beta Phi

Other Suites in old PhiTau area: Delta Upsilon (west side) and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (east side)

Phi Kappa Tau will build on the lot next to DZ

Delta Zeta will stay

Lambda Chi Alpha will stay

Beta Theta Pi will renovate the KD house

Triangle has their name on the lot next to KD but has no current plans to use it. They would like a suite to supplement their house if one opens up.

Sigma Chi will renovate the PiPhi house

Sigma Kappa will stay

Triangle will stay

Chi Omega will stay

Pi Kappa Alpha was not represented at the meeting and currently holds no space in the complex.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information about the project. Put AOII in the subject line so I'll know you aren't spam :)

Roses,

Dori

IIA Corporation

dksacks@aol.com

edited to correct spelling errors.....

Dori, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting us know. You've got an email waiting, but it may not be very coherent. This post won't be, either, but darn it, I just don't care.

I'm almost afraid to believe it's finally happening, after so long of waiting and hoping and dreaming. Sometimes, dreams really DO come true. A sincere thank you to Dori and every single person who never ever gave up on Pi Alpha's dream.

And in just in case Sarah or anyone else was wondering, I am crying right now :) This is the most wonderful news ever.

Another heartfelt congratulations on getting housing!!

Sarah

YEAH!!!

Get excited! That is awesome news! GO Pi Alpha!

AWESOME! Congratulations on a dream coming true!

Pi Alpha Housing Update
 

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've updated you all.... at least AOIIAlum gets my chapter updates or she'd never forgive me for keeping her out of the loop :)

Anyway... a lot has happened since my last report. Last fall we selected our upgrades from the 'dorm chic' the builder was going to put in. We even found cabinet hardware for the kitchen in a sheaf of wheat pattern!

The work is moving fast. The walls and roof are up and everything is framed out. We are supposed to get a few representatives in for a tour in the next week or so. Drywall won't be in for another month or two but we can't wait to see it either way.

There are some construction photos online via the link in my original post. They're way out of date but are better than nothing. I'll try to take a camera along when we go on the tour so everyone that wants can get a look inside.

Things are on schedule and our lease is set to begin August 12th. We're hoping to get in earlier though (recruitment starts on the 13th!). Keep your fingers crossed.

I'll try to send out more regular updates (sorry Chris... :))

Edited to add: They changed the letters on the layouts and we are now in what is considered Suite C.

OOOHHHHHH!!!! What wonderful news to read after a very long day! I still cannot believe this is really happening. Can you share any details on the other upgrades? Colors, furnishings, anything?

PS--has there been any type of fundraising mailing sent to alumnae? I've been keeping an eye out for a while but haven't received anything (she says, somewhat perplexed!) If so, PM or email me and let me know the details. :)

This type of news just gets me all excited! I cannot wait to see pictures! :) I'm sure the chapter is super excited!!!

Chris asked me about the wheat pull. Here is a link:

http://www.amerock.com/amerock/consu...AV=AMBP1334-G9

super duper nice. love it. Nu Beta Alumnae donated Sheaf of Wheat Vera Wang dinner plates two years ago....gotta love our sheafs :)

Sheaf of wheat Vera plates?!?! Link?

Love the pulls and can't wait to see everything. I am so excited and happy for everyone involved with IIA. I'll be in Louisville briefly at the end of the month and possibly again the weekend of the 22nd.

Sorry Chris - I searched online and they are discontinued

oh well...

If you go to verawang.com you can view them. They are simple. We ordered them from a supplier in England and had them shipped. One of our alumna had a contact over there to help us so a bunch of us were able to purchase it at cost. We got 250 plates! Fun times!

Darn. You're no fun.

These are kind of pretty, though. Lenox Linen Rose:
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/produc...xx.esn_results



ETA--found one of the wheat plates!
http://www.tableandhome.com/prodgcche

Those are the plates :)

My grandmother has some formal china with sheafs on it, it has gold...I'll have to ask her what kind it is. I'm sure it is old though.

We do need tableware for recruitment. We have glass plates now, but need more. We've had plain glass for so long, it would be great to find something different that we can get enough of at a reasonable price. I'll have to do some searching and hit the outlets...

Any excuse to shop of course :D

Is there a Crate and Barrel in Louisville now? I really like this pattern, although I have no clue what they're looking for :)

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=20&f=1534

Nope .... no Crate and Barrel :(

I think the closest is the one they opened last year in Columbus, OH. Which probably means another 2 years at least before it gets here...

In the end, it will all come down to budget of course.

Construction Photos!
 

I went by over the weekend and took some pictures.

http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio...ew 3-18-06.jpg
This is the front view.

http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio...ew 3-18-06.jpg
This is the rear view. (Check out all of the windows Chris!)

"We're movin' on up..." :)

We get inside for a tour on Friday - I'll try to get some interior shots for you.

WOW!!!! Get excited!

Re: Construction Photos!
 

That's it?!! That's ours?? Really and truly? WINDOWS!!! LOOK AT ALL THOSE PRETTY WINDOWS!!! For those of you unfamiliar, currently the chapter is in a basement suite. To be generous they currently have have a kitchenette with about enough room for 2 people, powder room (no shower though), living/dining room, chapter room, office and storage areas. Please correct me if I'm wrong about the current suite setup, Dori. Windows are the ultimate luxury.

PS--the Columbus Crate and Barrel is only about 45 minutes from me.

You are correct Chris. That's the current set up. Oh, to be above ground and not have the worry of water every time there is a heavy rain... :)

We'll double our available space and have 3 sets of double doors that will allow us to shut off the rear room if we like. The kitchen alone is probably as big as the current chapter room. Our biggest upgrade so far is tile, which we have in the entry, baths and kitchen. We went with 16" tiles set on a diagonal. But of course... We're most excited about the windows! :cool:

Thanks for the heads-up about Crate and Barrel. We probably won't get to deciding on those things until summer, but I'll let them know you are close by.

PS: Mark your calendar Chris - we are planning a fundraiser for June 4th and I've set it up so that we can have tours of the new suite! It should be pretty far along by then. Hope you can make it!

Edited to add: If I haven't mentioned it to you yet, there is a window in the kitchen too Chris! :)

Calendar marked already. Please email me the details once time, etc. are set! :)

Funny thing about windows in the kitchen...our kitchen in our house in KY was in the middle of the house so no windows. My only requirement when we moved to Pittsburgh and then here were windows in the kitchen.

As of right now the fundraiser is set for 2pm with small group tours to follow starting around 230-245.

That's unusual to have no windows in the kitchen. I would expect it in an apartment, but in a house you would think windows would be most everywhere...

I believe we are the only group with windows in the kitchen. We may even have the most window area period (I can't really tell with all the equipment still around). They're big too. On a guess-timate, I'd say each smaller pane in the photo is at least 12"x16". That's a lot of windows!

We must sound nuts to everyone else to be obsessing so much about a few panes of glass... but then close to 20 years underground will do that to a person :)

I sent some additional photos to UofL and they are supposed to put them online. That should give a better scope of where we are in relation to everyone else. I'll post a link when they are up.

Here is the link to additional photos online:

http://www.louisville.edu/student/co...rk/updates.htm

What exactly is being built for Pi Alpha? Is this a suite, a townhouse, a house? Will chapter members live there? What is the Greek housing like at Louisville?

If I remember the details, it's a suite/meeting/lounge type setup with residential spaces available for the chapter members. From the info on the Community web site: http://www.louisville.edu/student/co...park/specs.htm

The area will be equipped with two half bathrooms one of them will also include a shower unit.
The fellowship/gathering area will be approximately 920 sq. ft.
The kitchen will be approximately 245 sq. ft.
The kitchen pantry will be approximately 25 sq ft.
The office/study area will be approximately 110 sq ft.
The TV/seating area will be approximately 700 sq. ft.
Three sets of doors will open the TV/Study area to the main fellowship room for additional seating for large groups.
The storage area will be approximately 175 sq. ft.
The total parlor area will be approximately 2790 sq ft.

I don't know what our specific dimensions are, since the plans have changed several times, but those numbers are probably a good estimate. We should end up with about double the space (and be above ground!).

Currently there are 8 greek organizations on campus in historic homes and 3 groups on campus in suites. With the addition of the 5 new suites, remodel of 2 other suites and new house constuction there will eventually be a total of 17 organizations on campus.

Right now, the other 5 NPC groups are in the houses and AOII is in a basement suite. This fall there will be 3 remaining in the houses and 3 will move into the new suites, so there will be a parity in housing among the NPC groups that we haven't had previously.

There are no residential rooms connected to the suite directly, but there are 3 floors of dormitory space above the suites. Members of greek organizations can request priority assignment near their organization's suite.

That is so great for you all. Congratulations!

We went on our first tour of the interior today. Some areas were much bigger than I thought and some felt smaller, but since there aren't any real walls yet, it was hard to tell. My photos of the interior didn't turn out very well, but here is a better image of the front entry area. Since there are people in this one, you can probably get a better feel for the scale for the space.

http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio...AOII entry.JPG


This image is pretty dark, so hopefully you can make it out...

Each of the four rear windows looks to be about 5 feet across and 4 feet high.

http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio...of windows.JPG

New Photos!
 

We went on another tour today and a lot of the interior is coming along. Walls are up and painted and the cabinets should be in within the next week or so. Here are a couple pictures (sorry they are so dark):

Foyer
http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio...w of Foyer.JPG

TV/Media Room
http://www.womenchefs.org/associatio.../Back Room.JPG

There are more online on InCircle under the groups for 'Houses and Suites' and 'Pi Alpha Chapter'.

We have over 50 people RSVP'd to come to our fundraiser and take suite tours on June 4th. Things are moving right along and we should be able to get keys by 7/29!

Sniffle...sniffle...now I'm getting all teary eyed again! Cannot wait for the tour!!!

Since I'm so bad at keeping up with this thread on GC, I thought I would let you all know that I started using the journal function on InCircle to post updates. There are albums on the progress as well. We get keys in only THREE WEEKS! I'll put some new images out once everything is complete.

WE HAVE KEYS!!!
 

For those of you not following my journal on inCircle - I thought I would let you know that we finally have our keys! I went by this afternoon and picked them up when I did our walk-through.

There are still some final touches that will be completed next week, but it is officially ours.

And it only took 25 years... :)

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

New Photos on inCircle
 

I posted several new photos on inCircle. I'll post more once the furnishings are in place.

You can find them on the Pi Alpha group page or on my profile page.

Oh the house looks so good! I want to see pics when you all have it all decorated and everything....super duper nice :) Love the bathroom wall color!

There's flooring! WINDOWS! Kitchen CABINETS!!!!! Look at the KITCHEN! Look at the pretty little restroom!

Sniff--Sniffle--SOB!!!

:D

Very pretty!