House Update from the Alumni Board

 

Over the past four years the Board has implemented several capital projects for the house and our property to keep up with the necessary maintenance and provide improvements to interior and exterior of the house.

In 2019 we made a major decision to lease our house to the Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority, which turned out to be a great move and provided us with the necessary cash flow to perform some major renovations to the house.   These included: 

• The complete renovation of the Ladies Rest Room on the 1^st floor, converting it into 2 regular and 1 handicap bathrooms
• The complete renovation of the 2^nd floor bathroom and addition of 2^nd bathroom in the old room “R” to provide for a total of six toilets, six shower stalls and a large sinks/vanities.
• Repairs to all of the interior finishes on the 2^nd and 3^rd floor bedrooms and corridors
• Carpeting of the old BA area to provide for a study space in the open area
• New interior finishes on the 1^st floor including painting, floor refinishing, light fixtures, curtains, etc.
• Upgraded the kitchen with new dishwasher, refrigerator, serving areas and other table top appliances
• Renovation of the solarium
• New water heater(s) and boiler
• New washers and dryers in the basement area

This work was all complete during the summer break in 2019 from May to September.  The contractor did a great job and the house really looks great!  The Phi Sigma Sigma ladies have done an excellent job of keeping up with the cleaning and maintenance and care of the house during our absence.

In the summer break of 2022, we decided to undertake some projects on the exterior of our property.  They included:

• Pruning and maintenance of several of our old and historic large trees in the front and side yards including removal of a large oak tree adjacent to the front parking lot.
• Complete removal and replacement of the Pugh St. parking lot and concrete curbing
• Resurfacing of the Pugh St. front driveway and Calder Alley rear parking lot
• New concrete surfacing of the carport
• Rebuilding of the 40’ damaged section of our perimeter stone wall along Pugh St. and repointing and stone replacement of the remainder of the Pugh St. wall
• New landscaping and flower beds around the Pugh St. Parking lot and in the front yard of the house.

While there is an endless list of projects to be undertaken to keep the house in sound shape and looking great, we have been fortunate to have had great quality of work from our contractors and funding from donations and income from Phi Sigma Sigma to afford to keep upgrading the house over the past few years. We already have plans for some capital projects to be done of the 2023 summer break and will be reporting on them in the next newsletter.

Phi Alpha
Michael “Gibby” Miller
Board Member

 

Recently the Board formally engaged with SAE Financial & Housing Corporation (SAE F&H) to provide property management services for the House at 200 E Beaver Ave. The services are delivered by Greek Housing Management (GHM is a subsidiary of SAE FInancial & Housing).

SAE Financial & Housing Corporation is an entity separate from the Fraternity Service Center (HQ based in Evanston, IL at the Levere Memorial Temple). We are a non-profit, real estate development and investment company committed to preserving SAE fraternity houses across the realm through industry-leading property ownership and management. At Pennsylvania Alpha Zeta, prior to engaging in GHM’s property management, we were (and continue) to provide financial management services to the collegiate chapter (billing and collections). With this expanded role with the Board, we now assist the chapter in securing subleases with the membership, as well as day-to-day property operations.

Across the realm, we currently own/operate 13 SAE properties and provide management services to 8 chapters/house corporations. Many times a house corporation seeks out our assistance due to difficult financial times, a rundown property and poor board recruitment/participation. In the case of PAAZ, this is not the case. Due to the collegiate chapter’s re-Chartering in 2022 and a long relationship between PAAZ volunteers and SAE F&H, discussions occurred for nearly 12 months on how the chapter and property might benefit through a partnership with SAE F&H. As many of you may know, the Board is “staffed” with a diverse array of active alumni from complementary professional backgrounds. In addition, due to the Phi Sigma Sigma tenant relationship, finances in relation to the property are well established.

So why Greek Housing Management?

Our model includes many tried and true sustainable housing practices focused on safe and healthy chapter housing:
-Live-in House Director (year-round)
-Professional Housekeeping (weekly)

-Monday – Friday meal plan
-Cloud based, property management interface handling leasing, maintenance request/tracking, tenant communications and financials
-Serving also as the collegiate chapter’s manager, all chapter billing occurs via GHM – room/board, fraternity fees and all expenses collected and paid by GHM (Board gets their monthly rent)

As an alumnus of the chapter, please reach out if you have questions. Potential questions (we have already received some) would include:

-I plan to visit State College, can I visit the house? As you might be aware, safety and security in/around college campuses is a significant issue in this day and age. With our soon-to-be (late summer 2023) onsite house director, we can most likely accommodate access/tour of the common areas of the house with advanced notice/appointment.

-My class wants to have a reunion in State College, including a house tour or small gathering at the house. How do I plan/schedule? We have already received requests for small gatherings/events like this for summer 2024. Contact us to find out more details and be ahead of the game.

-I want to help the house financially, what plans does the Board have in relation to house projects/improvements that I might fund? The Board still owns and plans projects, fundraising, etc. Support is always welcome and the Board is excited to once again welcome SAEs as the students living in the house.

JP Andrick (Frostburg ‘97)
Senior Director of Operations – East & West SAE FInancial & Housing
www.saehousing.net
jandrick@saehousing.com
847.513.2378