$4 million remodel concluding for IU's Beta Theta Pi

A house on Jordan Avenue will become the new home to 60 men next fall, when the brothers of Beta Theta Pi move into their newly renovated house.\nThe house is scheduled to open Aug. 24.\nWhile the design for the house, located at 1100 N. Jordan Ave., is new, the fraternity is certainly not.\nBeta Theta Pi, commonly known as Beta, first opened its IU chapter in 1845. In 2003, the men returned to campus after a short break and have been working on the project to remodel the house on Jordan Avenue since then.\nThe men live in houses scattered around campus. \nSophomore member Chris Remley said the houses have been enjoyable for the brothers, but they are excited for the renovation. \n"The live-out houses have had pros and cons. It has been nice to be able to party at a lot of different places, and each live-out house has its own atmosphere and personality," he said. But, he said, "it is hard to keep in touch with everyone, and you have to make more of an effort to keep it a tight brotherhood."\nRemley, a member of the Beta cycling team, said, "It will be much easier to train without having to drive to Ninth (Street) and Park (Avenue) to practice together."\nSophomore Scott Watson, a member of the fraternity, said there will be a full renovation of the house, ranging from re-covering the exterior with stone to changing the current rooms to singles.\nAll the bedrooms will be singles, allowing 60 men to live in the house.\nWatson said the men will keep some of the live-out houses, such as those on Seventh Street and Park Avenue. \nRemley said he is "very excited about the traditional architecture layout" of the new place.\nHe said the men looked at historical Beta houses as well as other Beta houses across the country and found what each chapter had in common. They incorporated the traditional style as much as possible when designing the new house, he said.\nThe entire renovation will cost the fraternity just more than $4 million.\nSenior and past Beta risk manager Anthony Moorman said the fraternity is funding the house with a loan that will be paid off through donations they have received. Remley said donations have come from alumni and various other organizations within the University. \nFor the underclassmen, this renovation is an exciting project that will enhance their fraternity experience. Remley said he believes the new house will attract more members to the fraternity.\n"Not having a house can be a turn off, especially for incoming freshmen," he said. "The new house will allow everything to be right there and provide much more convenience." \nFor some, including the current seniors -- who will miss living in the new house by only one year -- the renovation is bittersweet.\nStill, Moorman said, it "will be good to come back and visit the new house"