Pi Alpha House

Pi Alpha Completes $28,700 House Renovation As It Begins Its 35th Anniversary At The University of Toledo

In 1990, Pi Alpha moved into its current house in the McComas Village at The University of Toledo. Over the years small renovations have been made to the structure of the house and furniture.

During the summer of 2018, The Pi Alpha Alumni Association partnered with the Undergraduate Chapter, Kappa Delta Rho National Fraternity, The University of Toledo Residence Life, and outside vendors to execute a renovation of the first floor and portions of the basement.  The quality of the Pi Alpha House now matches the quality of its men.

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Where did the funding come from?  The following sources of funding were used:

  1. The University of Toledo Residence Life = $2,350
  2. UT Residence Life Donation From Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity = $2,350
  3. Undergraduate chapter = $1,000
  4. Loan from KDR National = $23,000 (5-year term, $445 per month)

The Pi Alpha Alumni Association is asking alumni brothers for donations to help the undergraduate chapter pay-off the loan from KDR National and to provide funding for additional investments into the house (see “What’s Next” section below).

Step 1 – New Vinyl Plank Flooring

The house renovation began with the removal of the old carpeting and the installation of a new vinyl plank flooring.

The first floor main living area, bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, foyer, and bedroom received new flooring. This house improvement can be summarized in one word “stunning”!!

 

Step 2 – Build New Tables For The House

While the new flooring was being installed alumni and undergraduate brothers gathered to build eight tables for the house. The build took place in the garage and backyard of Alumni Brother Rick Longenecker.

The project began with Alumni Brother Ben Edwards designing the furniture, crafting a materials list, and creating a cost estimate.

 

 

On Friday, August 17, 2018, Ben Edwards and Rick Longenecker met to purchase, cut, and organize materials for the build.

On Saturday, August 18, 2018, under Ben Edwards direction, a team of undergrads built and stained the eight tables.

  1. High top table for the main living area (4′ x 6′)
  2. Kitchen table (3′ x 6′)
  3. Two study tables (4′ x 8′)
  4. TV stand (3′ x 8′)
  5. Coffee table (4′ x 4′)
  6. Executive committee table (3′ x 8′)
  7. Conference table (3′ x 8′)

They worked from 7:30 a.m. until midnight.

Over the next few days, Brother Longenecker put the finishing polyurethane coats on and prepped the furniture for delivery.

When you see these brothers please thank them for their selfless service to our brotherhood!  A special thank you goes to Alumni Brother Ben Edwards for sacrificing an entire weekend to this project!

  1. Jared Rediger
  2. Jeff Fouke
  3. Dan Shopshire
  4. Ben Edwards
  5. Jack Longenecker
  6. Rick Longenecker
  7. Nathan Cucculic (not pictured)
  8. Cameron Downs (not pictured)
  9. Zac Lonyo (not pictured)
  10. Remmy Sanchez (not pictured)

The actions of these brothers saved the chapter over $8,000. They also built much higher quality tables than we could have purchased.

Step 3 – Clean Out The House and Remove Old Furniture

During the first few weeks of August, House Manager Travis “Cosmo” Turner led brothers to clean out the house.

They cleaned the storage room, removed old desks and chairs, and pitched eight old sofas and chairs.

They filled a 40-yard dumpster until it overflowed!

Thank you for cleaning the house!  You did an amazing job!

  1. Jared Rediger
  2. Jeff Fouke
  3. Travis Turner – House Manager
  4. RJ Sanchez

Step 4 – Purchase Furniture & Finishings

During July and early August 2018, Brother Tony D’Amico worked with Alumni Brother Longenecker to define new furniture requirements including:

  1. New sectional sofa
  2. 70″ TV, surround sound, and X-box
  3. New chairs for the high top table
  4. New chairs for the kitchen table
  5. New chairs for the basement conference room
  6. Rugs for the TV area (under the sectional sofa) and new basement conference room
  7. New chair rack for folding chairs in basement

The new furniture was delivered on Friday, August 24th – – prior to the beginning of the Fall semester.

Step 5 – Move-In and Set-up

On Thursday, August 23, 2018, the new tables were moved from Brother Longenecker’s house to the Pi Alpha House and set-up.

On Friday, August 24th as the new sectional sofa was delivered, a group of brothers set-up the new 70″ TV, sound system, and X-box.  This day will live in Pi Alpha history as a great turning point for the chapter.

Step 6 – Refurbish The Trophy Cases

In early September 2018, we refurbished the old trophy case.  It isn’t fancy but we removed all the glass doors, stained it to match the new furniture, and installed new lights.

The second trophy case is having new glass shelves cut and lighting installed.

The good news is that the trophy cases are looking better than before.  The bad news is that they are too small to hold the chapter trophies.  There there is no room for the mountain of new trophies on the way!  The chapter is planning to have a large, custom trophy case built and installed by the end of 2018.

Step 7 – Clean The Kitchen

In 2015, The University of Toledo paid for and completed a renovation of the kitchen.  This included new upper and lower cabinets, new sink, and granite counter-tops.  UT is working on a plan to replace the kitchen appliances over the next 2-3 years.

We also purchased a gently used JennAir barbecue for $100…a nice addition for the men of Pi Alpha!

What’s Left To Be Done?

As you can see, this renovation is a huge step forward for Pi Alpha, but there is still much work to be done.  Now that the house is liveable, it’s time for Pi Alpha to become the most sought-after place to live on campus.  Here are some of the improvements the chapter is looking to make:

  1. Pictures – we are planning to purchase nine custom pictures for the first floor that reflect our values.  Each of the nine photos will have one of the following sayings on it: Be A Scholar, Be A Leader, Be A Competitor, Be A Gentleman, Be a Servant, Be A Brother, Be A KDR, Be A Role Model, Be Financially Responsible, Be A Role Model.  Estimated cost = $1,100
  2. Basement Conference Room – We are planning to build shelves to cover the plumbing monstrosity that sticks out from the wall.  We are also planning to install a floor to ceiling whiteboard on one wall and purchase a 55″ TV for use running meetings. Estimated Cost = $2,800
  3. Basement – we are planning to remove the carpet and install vinyl plank flooring that matches the first floor.  This will include purchasing custom rugs for the TV area, and a new 70″ TV.  Estimated cost = $10,000
  4. Chairs – currently the chapter has folding chairs to accommodate 50-people. The chapter now has 80-members so we are planning to purchase 50 new chairs and a new chair rack.  Estimated cost = $1,000
  5. Custom Built Trophy Case – as mentioned above, we are planning to build a large, custom trophy case.  Estimated cost = $2,000
  6. Kitchen – we are planning to purchase a commercial grade coffee, espresso, cappuccino maker.  Estimated cost – $5,000
  7. Mobile Events – we are planning to purchase a 12′ x 12′ custom pop-up tent as well as a small portable generator.  Estimated cost = $1,800
  8. Multi-Media Capability – we are planning to purchase a commercial grade video camera, sound equipment, and live-streaming technology.  This will be used to enable alumni brothers to remotely engage the chapter.  It will also enable the chapter to live-stream events including Songfest, intramurals, homecoming, chapter meetings, and countless other events. It will also enable the chapter to capture chapter history for our website. Estimated Cost $10,000.