Harmony on SDSU Fraternity Row
> San Diego Union-Tribune
> September 7, 2003
>
> Harmony on Fraternity Row
> SDSU marks first year of apartments
>
> By Jonathan Heller
> STAFF WRITER
>
> About a year ago, San Diego State University opened Fraternity Row, a
> large apartment complex on campus for half of the school's
fraternities.
>
> The idea was to get them out of the neighborhoods surrounding the
school
> to minimize long-running frictions with residents stemming from
parties,
> trash and noise.
>
> There were questions as to how the groups would coexist in relatively
> close quarters, but most everyone seems to be happy with the
> redevelopment project, which has more than 230 students from eight
> fraternities living in relative harmony.
>
> "I thought there would be fights, but I haven't seen any," said Josh
San
> Julian, Interfraternity Council rush director and Phi Kappa Psi
member.
> "Even though we're rivals, we still have to live together."
>
> The $16 million Fraternity Row is a four-story building that houses
> eight fraternities next to Cox Arena. It is owned and run by the SDSU
> Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that manages university
properties.
>
> The foundation celebrated the one-year anniversary of the project
> yesterday with a breakfast, speeches and tours of the building.
>
> Neighborhood residents said they also are happy with the results. The
> neighborhood used to record an average of 50 noise complaints a year.
> Last year, that number was 10.
>
> "The word is out that it's not quite the party place it used to be,"
> said Paul Englert, who lives east of College Avenue.
>
> Besides cleaning up the surrounding neighborhoods, one of the
> foundation's goals was to upgrade Greek housing. Many of the
> fraternities were living in old, run-down, single-family homes that
had
> been converted into fraternity houses, said Steve Bloom, the
> foundation's chief operating officer.
>
> Fraternity Row features 62 two-and three-bedroom units. They all have
> fully equipped kitchens and are pre-wired for telephone, cable and
> high-speed data lines.
>
> The foundation hopes to build more apartments and ultimately move all
of
> the university's fraternities and sororities onto or closer to
campus,
> Bloom said.
>
> For those accustomed to fraternity house living, the rules outlined
in
> the 12-page lease for Fraternity Row are formidable: no kegs, no
> barbecues, no bicycles on the balconies and no more than two guests
for
> each resident.
> Beer and wine are allowed at permitted events for people 21 and
older.
>
> Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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