Members of Pi Kappa Phi said they’re happy to be shooting hoops in their own backyard again.
House residents are back in the newly rebuilt $6 million home on Fraternity Row after the previous building was demolished in August 2017, President Matt Farah said.
The new house has room for 46 of 130 active members, Farah said. The space is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant and has a basketball court in the backyard.
“Just the feeling of being back in house and eating meals together is, I think, the best thing so far,” Farah said.
Alumni of the fraternity contributed $1.5 million to the project, which was combined with $4.5 million secured from the fraternity’s national headquarters, Farah said.
The front path leading up to the house is made of bricks engraved with the names of people who donated money to the fraternity, said Ryan Emery, a UF finance senior and Pi Kappa Phi brother. The pathway is reminiscent of the “Gator Walk” at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, he said.
Emery is thankful for the alumni who made the house possible, saying the new house has brought the members closer.
“When you live at a fraternity house with 45 guys there’s always something to do,” he said.
Pi Kappa Phi isn’t the only Greek organization with a new home.
Gamma Phi Beta also has a new $10.5 million building opening this Fall, wrote Maureen Walker, managing director of marketing and communications for Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority, in an email.
The 24,000-square-foot house has been in the works for the past year and a half. The house will hold 71 of the chapter’s 176 women, along with a study space, 24-hour student kitchen and a covered patio, Walker wrote.
“Our members are excited to move into their new facility and have new opportunities to bond with sisters,” she wrote.
Contact Gillian Sweeney at gsweeney@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @gilliangsweeney
Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at UF had its former house demolished in July. A new fraternity house will be built at the same location, 11 W. Fraternity Row.
