Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House | |
Location | 314 Russell St., West Lafayette, Indiana |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°25′39″N 86°55′7″W / 40.42750°N 86.91861°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1920 |
Architect | Daggett, Robert Frost; Stackhouse, Allan |
Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 02000197[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 20, 2002 |
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House, also known as Maltese Manor, is a historic fraternity house located at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 2002. In 2023, it was adapted into the Revive 314 student apartment complex.
History
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House, also known as Maltese Manor, is a historic fraternity house located at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It housed the Indiana Gamma Omicron chapter of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity from its construction until May 2021.[2]: 5–6 Purdue and ATO alumni oversaw the construction of the chapter house in the summer of 1920 for $28,000 ($425,860 in 2022 money).[3]
Around 2001, the fraternity sold its chapter house and property to a fraternity brother, Mike Cates, under the business name PCM Properties LLC.[3] PCM which leased the house to the undergraduates of the fraternity for twenty years.[3] PCM prepared a new contract that increased the rent for the property in the fall 2020 semester at a time when the fraternity was still recovering financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] The chapter's alumni and the National Alpha Tau Omega HQ and National Board of Trustees advised the chapter not to the new PCM contract.[3] As a result the fraternity stopped renting the property after the 2020-2021 academic year; the chapter house remained empty.[4]
In 2021, PCM submitted a proposal to the city to demolish the chapter house to prepare the site for 51 student apartments, retail space, and a parking garage in a $12 to $15 million project.[3][4] President of the Purdue ATO chapter Kiernan McCormick said, "The alumni that owned our home (Mike Cates, PPC Properties owner) decided it was time to do other things with the property. This decision was not shared by the chapter, the alumni, or the National Headquarters, however, it was out of our control legally."[3] PMC stated that it wanted to end its relationship with the fraternity, in part, for disciplinary actions.[3] The university sanctioned the fraternity for hazing and alcohol violations twice between 2019 and 2020.[3]
The university did not support the redevelopment project, saying that it did not fit into its Master Plan.[4][5] The West Lafayette Historical Preservation Commission also sent a letter indicating its desire to preserve the historic structure.[6] However, the city's Area Plan Commission passed the proposal twelve to five in May 2021.[4] The chapter house and project's fate was determined in October 2021 by the West Lafayette City Council which voted eight to one against rezoning the property.[5] City Council members indicated their support for saving the historic chapter house.[5]
Students were living in the former fraternity house in 2023.[7]In February 2023, PCM submitted an adaptive reuse plan for the chapter house.[8] The West Lafayette Historical Preservation Commission approved the plan on May 1, 2023.[9][6] Construction on the apartment project began in late June 2023.[6] The house was developed into Revive 314 apartments.[9][10][6]
Architecture
Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House was designed by architects Robert Frost Daggett and Allan Stackhouse. Daggett was an ATO member from the Pennsylvania ATO chapter.[3] It was built in 1920 and is a 2+1⁄2-story, rectangular, Tudor Revival style brick and stone building.[1] It has a truncated hipped roof, parapeted tower, and a platform porch extending across the front facade. [1]A one-story kitchen addition was built in 1940, and a three-story addition in 1963. The building was remodeled in 1995, after a fire on the second and third floors.[1]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 2002.[1]
In June 2023, construction began to convert the chapter house into an apartment building for students, following the design of architect Berry Knechtel of KJG Architecture.[6] The project included adding a four-story addition that included 80 apartments.[6] The main section of the historic house was also significantly modified, turning it into small apartments and removing the wings which were not part of the original structure.[6] In total, the new Revive 314 apartment building is expected to have 337 beds.[9][6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-07-01. Note: This includes Chad M. Rinker (March 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-01. and Accompanying photographs
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Primm, Emily (2021-09-21). "Historic ATO house faces demolition". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c d Hackler, Meredith (2021-09-15). "A historic building and former ATO Fraternity house could be torn down if new proposal is approved". WLFI News 18. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c Hackler, Meredith (2021-10-04). "West Lafayette City Council Votes to Save Former ATO House". WLFI News 18. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kling, James (2023-06-27). "Apartment construction begins at old Alpha Tau Omega house". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Christopherson, Margaret (2023-05-04). "New Six-Story Building Will Bring Up to 100 Beds to West Lafayette". Journal and Courier. Lafayette, Indiana. pp. A3. Retrieved 2024-04-12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bangert, Dave (February 20, 2023). "New plan surfaces to save, redevelop ATO fraternity house near Purdue". www.basedinlafayette.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ a b c Gorsuch, Kaita (2023-05-01). "WL City Council approves ATO house redevelopment". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ "Home |". Revive 318. Retrieved 2024-04-12.