Chapter Housing
 

Looking around campus for decent lots to build on. What kind of square footage of lot space will accommodate a house for about 30 men?

I found a great lot near existing housing but it seems much too expensive and looks to be like it might be too big.

QFP

If you're in a national GLO -- you don't have a housing corporation to handle that?

If not -- you don't have a builder that can answer this question for you?

The chapter is just starting up. We haven't been able to discuss it in detail and realistically won't be able to do anything for at least a couple years, but space is limited and good lots are hard to find.

Just curious is all...

I see.

This really isn't a question to ask randoms on the internet. You really should ask a builder for this info.

Doesn't this seem to be putting the cart before the horse, or am I missing something?

I really don't see the issue with this. It's a simple question...

"Generally, how big would a lot need to be to accommodate a house for 30 men?" (Parking, lawn space, etc.)

I'm not trying to go get a lot tomorrow. I'm just wondering.

BIG AND SLOW SO YOU FOLLOW.

BECAUSE THAT KIND OF QUESTION IS BEST ANSWERED BY SOMEONE WITH THE PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE, ZONING LAWS AND FIRE CODES BECAUSE WE'D JUST BE PULLING AN ANSWER OUT OF OUR ASS.

DON'T ASK THE QUESTION AND BITCH ABOUT THE ANSWER YOU GET.

OH now I understand. Idiot.

I'm willing to bet that a person living in a house that size could tell me how big the damn lot is that it sits on.

So, what you're saying is, you still don't understand.

Building a one story house or a three story house? Providing parking for all members or none? Is land cheap or expensive?

Sorry I used big words there, but you'll figure it out eventually. Ask your mum.

Not to mention zoning issues...

Echoing what everyone else said: Your national org's housing corp would be the source to turn to for this information. Just because a lot may be big enough, doesn't mean the housing corp wants it.

You have to make sure that there aren't any local brothel laws. :rolleyes:

Not all GLOs have national housing corps, not all the ones that do are that involved (versus just guaranteeing select loans). A lot of this is done at the local level by alumni. I am an alumnus with quite a bit of experience in that area, and have worked as a developer. I would like to think I know what I'm talking about on this subject.

That said, it's almost impossible to answer this question without massively more information.

You're saying 30 residents. I don't know the dynamic on your campus to know how big your chapter has to be to support that. The places I've worked on these kinds of projects, you'd need a 90-100 member chapter, but that could be different at some schools. Whatever that number is, you need to show stability at that level for a couple years.

The house design itself could vary considerably. I could pack 30 guys into double rooms with minimal common area in a few thousand square feet. Or, you could have single rooms in apartment style pods and legitimate chapter areas in a 15k sf 3-story house. The options in between are literally infinite.

It seems like a waste of time at this point anyway. You said you're a new chapter. You are going to need something like a 35% down payment in cash. Call that $350k for the sake of easy math. I don't see how you have the ability to raise that kind of money without strong alumni support. A chapter usually can't pull that kind of thing off for 10-25 years. Mind you, none of those donations are tax deductible.

I can give you a real broad answer just for the sake of your imagination. You'll have to look at your local zoning, but probably you need 10ft offsets on the side and 20-25ft offset on front & back. Again with the zoning, you probably need the higher of 2.5 parking spots per bedroom or 1 per max number of residents. Plus whatever the footprint of your house would be.

At this point honestly you should focus on building and strengthening your chapter. It's good to have a savings account to hold money toward a future house, but that's not likely happening while you're in school. When you can support a house, it's best to rent for a long time. Then buy an existing smaller house when you've saved up enough and the chapter can support it. Then when you have a lot of alumni and a whole lot of money put together, you can embark on a serious building project. A project like that, after you've raised all the money, will take 2-3 years to accomplish, the last 9-12mos being actual construction.

It's a huge task. If you have the means to accomplish it then by all means I wish you the best of luck. Otherwise, take the long view and keep that dream alive so you can give it back to later generations.

i lol'd