Residents resist new Fiji house

During a Bloomington City Council meeting Wednesday, neighborhood associations and Bloomington residents voiced their disapproval of the proposed construction of an IU fraternity house.

The IU Foundation plans to build the new Phi Gamma Delta — commonly referred to as Fiji — fraternity house in the University Courts Neighborhood at the corner of Eighth Street and Woodlawn Avenue.

The chapter’s current house on Third Street will be demolished in order to expand the Maurer School of Law.

The proposed construction of the fraternity house would require the demolition of six houses in the neighborhood that were placed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1992 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Community members addressed the issue during the public forum portion of Wednesday’s meeting.

Sandi Cole, a property owner about two blocks away from the proposed construction site, voiced her concerns about the demolition of the historic buildings.  

“I’m concerned that power and money are at the forefront of this debate,” Cole said.
Property owners in historic districts are required to present any exterior changes on their property to the Historic Preservation Commission, but IU is exempt from this
requirement.

The Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission wrote a letter in August to the University, urging it to reconsider the proposed location of the fraternity house.

Residents such as Jon Lawrence, a member of the Council of Neighborhood Associations Executive Committee, also expressed unease about the presence of a greek house in a residential neighborhood.

“Beyond the physical demolition, there is the consequence of dropping testosterone and beer-filled men in the middle of an established neighborhood,” Lawrence said.

Jenny Southern, president of the Elm Heights Neighborhood Association, is an IU graduate whose mother graduated from the law school.

“It’s a big surprise to see those houses go down and a frat house pop up,” Southern said.

Many residents recommended moving the location of the new fraternity house closer to Jordan Avenue or Third Street.

“IU gets an expanded law school. The Fijis get a new fraternity house,” Bloomington resident Caroline Clay said. “What does Bloomington get?”

Follow reporter Megan Jula on Twitter @MeganJula.