Archives, Properties

A New Home in Austin

In November, Pi Kappa Phi Properties completed a purchase of a new home for the Zeta Theta Chapter at University of Texas at Austin. The property was purchased from and is currently occupied by Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Pi Kappa Phi will move into the property in fall 2016. As part of the sale, Pi Kappa Phi Properties is leasing back the property to Phi Kappa Psi through the end of this school year.

With the addition of the Zeta Theta chapter house, it brings the total number of houses owned in the Lone Star state to three. Properties also owns the Delta Psi (Texas-Arlington) and Eta Rho (Texas State) chapter houses.

The property, which Pi Kappa Phi Properties identified as a potential purchase in May 2014, with the help of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at Austin Area Housing Corporation, will sleep 39 men, features a large yard, full basketball court, large interior common areas and a commercial kitchen.

Zeta Theta was originally chartered in March of 1988. Since the chapter rechartered in April 2009, finding a suitable housing solution for Pi Kappa Phi has been challenging. With more than 51,000 students attending the University of Texas at Austin and prices rising each year, the options available are always dwindling. Additionally, Austin is home to some of the largest national student housing development companies in the country. The West Campus area of Austin, where the Zeta Theta property is located has seen nearly every single family home or small apartment building converted into large six story apartment buildings.

Since 2009, the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at Austin Area Housing Corporation and Pi Kappa Phi Properties seemingly turned over every rock with opportunities. “For six long years, in conjunction with Pi Kappa Phi Properties, we have looked for a significant housing opportunity on West Campus. This acquisition shows the long term efforts and the resources Pi Kappa Phi Properties has brought to succeed in this highly competitive housing market. We are excited for the opportunities this brings to the Zeta Theta Chapter,” said alumnus Paul Drake from the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at Austin Area Housing Corporation.

There is no doubt that Zeta Theta is an example for other chapters of Pi Kappa Phi to look to in search for housing opportunities – long term vision and hard work can really pay off for a chapter.

Check out more photos of the house here