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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSIGMA PHI EPSILON RENOVATION & ADDITION - NON-CONFORMING USE - NCU150001 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - APPLICANT COMMUNICATIONHonoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future The Campaign for Colorado Gamma Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity—Colorado State University “I give because I do not believe that my responsibility ended when I graduated. I believe that every member is responsible for ensuring the success of Colorado Gamma. “I give because the gifts I received from being in the fraternity are more valuable than any amount of money I can give back. “I give because Sigma Phi Epsilon gave me the confidence to make hard decisions, to always do what is right. It taught me the power of responsibility, to be true in my words and actions. To always step forward when needed, to serve my fellow man. “I give because I want others to receive those same gifts.” –Dan Reagan ’82 The Colorado Gamma Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon and Colorado State University share a storied tradition dating back to 1915. From our original founding in 1905 as the Royal and Infernal Order of the Tree Apes to the present, our proud history speaks for itself through high academic achievement and leadership within Colorado State University. With more than 2,500 initiates, the Colorado Gamma Chapter has influenced the lives of thousands of men and cultivated lasting friendships in the process. Many of our best college memories can be traced back to our SigEp experience. Many of our Alumni have gone on to very successful and distinguished careers in academics and education, business, business planning and consulting, investment management, banking, property management, architecture and engineering, construction and construction machinery, ranching, agriculture and food production, wine making, property and land development, medicine and veterinary medicine, pharmaceuticals, politics, athletics and all pro football and Colorado Hall of Fame and countless other endeavors, the common brotherhood remains along with our shared principles and values. Most of us trace the beginnings of our success to one place: 121 East Lake Street. Through SigEp we not only learned the importance of friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence, but we acquired valuable assets, which include leadership skills, organizational skills, social skills, teamwork, and character. Oftentimes, these traits have been integral to our personal success and helped make us the men we are today. Our chapter house is clearly the focus of undergraduate life for SigEp. It has been a home away from home for hundreds of young men and a classroom where our brothers have learned our founding principles of virtue, diligence, and brotherly love. However, if we wish for Colorado Gamma to continue its strong presence on the Colorado State campus, we must ensure that we are providing a safe, modern, and competitive facility. Now is the appropriate time to secure and inspire our future. HONORING OUR PAST Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future Colorado State Awards Fraternity of the Year 2003, ’04, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12 CSU Seal of Approval 2003, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13 Academic Excellence 2006, ’08 (first on campus), ’09 (first on campus) Sigma Phi Epsilon National Awards Benjamin Hobson Frayser Award (Outstanding Alumni Communication) 2005, ’09, ’11 Manpower Excellence (First in Manpower on Campus and above All-Campus grade average) 2009 Buchanan Cup (Overall Chapter Excellence) 1985 J. Edward Zollinger Outstanding Senior Award (Outstanding Senior in Each District of the Fraternity) 2008 – Michael Oettinger ’08 2006 – Ross Hendrix ’07 Sigma Phi Epsilon District 23 Volunteer of the Year 2011 – Bryan A. Harmsen ’01 Sigma Phi Epsilon Citation (Lifetime Career Excellence) 1973 – Jasper French ’39 1973 – Kenneth Monfort ’51 1993 – Paul Jennings ’58 Sigma Phi Epsilon Distinguished Alumnus Award (Outstanding Service to Chapter, District or National Fraternity for Five Years) 1989 – James Wiseman ’63 1993 – Albert Hornung ’61 1999 – Archie Lind ’64 At a Glance Average four-year manpower – 76 Average four-year GPA – 2.96 (second of 22) COLORADO GAMMA ACHIEVEMENTS The Campaign for Colorado Gamma OUR NEEDS While the Colorado Gamma experience is certainly more than the bricks and mortar of the chapter house, our home undoubtedly plays a significant role in the development of our undergraduate brothers and as a proud symbol of our shared values and goals. Built in 1929, 121 East Lake Street has been a part of Colorado’s legacy for 78 years. Through good stewardship the house has lasted over 84 years, but it has become clear that we must make a major investment in our chapter house if we are to continue providing a safe, high-quality living environment, as well as remain competitive and meet the ever-changing needs of our active chapter brothers. Keeping Our Brothers Safe The safety of our undergraduate brothers is of utmost importance to the Red Door House Corporation; we must offer a structurally sound and safe home for our men. Much like our personal homes, our chapter house must be a safe haven that instills confidence in our members and their parents. Pursuing Excellence Colorado State is as academically challenging as ever, and an enhanced, quiet, well-lit, and comfortable study space within our facility is necessary to supporting our members’ pursuit of academic excellence. We have all seen the impact of technology over the years, as devices not present during your college years are now necessities. Our plan will ensure that Colorado Gamma excels academically and remains a scholastic leader on campus and within the Greek system by providing better academic space and technology that fits the needs of undergraduate brothers. Setting Ourselves Apart While Colorado Gamma continues to attract some of CSU’s top men, we are risking the loss of quality potential members based on the condition of the house. We want to offer a SigEp house that is a desirable place to live for underclassman and upperclassmen alike. We must be able to compete with the amenities offered in newly renovated on-campus residence halls (five since 2012) and off-campus luxury apartments. For Colorado Gamma to remain a premier fraternity at Colorado State, we must renovate and expand our facility to attract the quality of men that perpetuate our prideful tradition. THE PLAN FOR COLORADO GAMMA Ten years ago, the Red Door House Corporation completed a strategic assessment with the goal of improving the operations of the corporation and chapter house to position Colorado Gamma for a successful capital campaign. Over the last 10 years, the Red Door House Corporation, with undergraduate support, has renovated the living room, which significantly increased undergraduate gathering on the main floor, added a high-end sport court (a sound body initiative), built a quality study room (a sound mind initiative), and upgraded the railroad-tie retaining wall while nearly eliminating bad debt and developing a $450,000 surplus. The Red Door House Corporation and undergraduate leadership have developed a solid plan to address the long-term viability of the SigEp experience on the Colorado State campus. Through careful study, assessment, and planning, it has been determined that updates and maintenance to the chapter house, beyond what can be afforded by the House Corporation, are necessary to meet the needs of today’s students. The Red Door House Corporation has worked with architects Jon Kucera, VA Eta ’71, Jan Peterson, MO Beta ’67, Walter “Bud” Frick, FL Gamma ’69, and Colorado Gamma alumnus Mitch Christ ’79. This group has developed the following tactical approach to Honoring HONORING Our Past, Inspiring OUR Our PAST, Future SECURING OUR FUTURE EXTERIOR • Restore/repair/paint house exterior including historic Georgian architecture details such as the wooden porch columns/capitals, all wooden house trim, wood siding on dormers, and repair (tuck point) brickwork as necessary (to comply with City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation requirements) • Refurbish/replace all wood windows and doors to be historically accurate and upgraded to be more energy efficient • Reinstall new historically accurate wooden balustrade around the Trophy Room deck, third floor deck, and new balcony deck at library above the kitchen • Repair vertical foundation cold joint between original house and kitchen addition (north) • Analyze foundation/wall structure of kitchen for accommodation of library addition • Demolish roof structure above kitchen and add new vaulted ceiling second- story addition above kitchen • Install new roof with ice shield, flashings, gutters, and downspouts • Repair grading in front of house to ensure positive drainage away from house • Add new ADA-compliant concrete ramps from Lake Street sidewalk and alley parking to front entry • Rework retaining wall and sidewalk along Lake Street to meet City code requirements • Upgrade landscaping and add trash and bicycle enclosures INTERIOR • Demolish all interior finishes out to exterior brick walls and interior studs • Demolish all existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems • Abate any asbestos and lead paint • Install new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire suppression systems (add air conditioning if feasible) • Install new Internet communication system • Install new security system • Install all new floor, wall, and ceiling finishes - restore historic architectural details as feasible • Install new millwork and cabinetry • Install sealed, timer-controlled gas fire place inserts in living room, chapter room, and library • Refurbish kitchen walk-in cooler and The Campaign for Colorado Gamma Design and Construction $1,819,000 Contingency $91,000 Fundraising Campaign $90,000 FF&E Allowance $100,000 Total Project Cost $2,100,000 Real Estate Operations Income Chapter Rent Paid to House Corporation ($50,000-$70,000 per year depending on occupancy) Project Cost Resolution Total Project Cost $2,100,000 Red Door House Corporation Reserves ($400,000) Colorado Gamma Chapter Investment Fund ($98,000) 20-Year First Mortgage with SigEp National Housing or Local Lender ($352,000) Campaign for Colorado Gamma Capital Fundraising ($1,250,000) Net $0 Short-term lending will be employed to cover campaign pledges scheduled for receipt after 2014 (expected to be less than 40% of total funds raised). PROJECT ESTIMATE Third Floor Fourth Floor Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future The Campaign for Colorado Gamma The Residential Learning Community Residential Learning Communities (RLC) enrich the SigEp experience for undergraduate brothers by delivering a powerful living-learning environment and a strengthened member development program. RLC chapters embrace the relationship with their host university and local community in recognition that learning does not begin and end in the classroom and we can do more to bring unique learning opportunities into the chapter house. An important byproduct of a great RLC chapter house is a daily study space for members that is quiet, comfortable, and effective for their academic pursuits. The SigEp RLC concept was formally established in 2000 to provide chapters with facilities and program support to enrich collaboration between undergraduates, academic faculty, local professionals, alumni, and community members that results in personal growth and educational development for all involved. Example programming that could be hosted at an RLC chapter house might include “Using LinkedIn and social networking in your career search” presented by the CSU Career Center, “How is the Greek concept of Arete, excellence in all things, relevant today?” by a CSU history professor, “Rich SigEp, Poor SigEp – Simple Personal Finance for undergraduates and young alumni” by a distinguished alumnus. Our current facilities are not conducive to hosting top- flight educational programming for our full membership and guests. Premier RLC chapter house facilities set the stage for exceptional programing and much more while SigEp continues to be a leader in the Greek community. There are four basic elements of the RLC: Facility/Learning Environment – Create an environment where it is easy to do right and hard to do wrong; the facility is not only a fraternity house, it is a learning community. Network of Support – Ensure regular involvement and support of members, alumni, volunteers, parents, and the university community. Faculty Fellow/Resident Scholar – Faculty members and/or resident scholar interested in working with students outside the classroom interact as advisors and mentors to individual chapter members. Personal and Academic Development – Encouraged by the faculty fellow, chapter members explore new avenues for personal and academic growth. Faculty Involvement Faculty fellows are a tremendous asset to a chapter, assisting the men on an individual basis with academic planning. Typically, a faculty fellow holds regular office hours in the chapter facility, shares meals with members, and promotes student-faculty interaction through cultural and educational programming. Faculty fellows may teach a class in the chapter facility, invite other academic professionals to the facility, and share their knowledge of campus resources. Chapter Benefits In addition to an enhanced learning environment and overall improved “One of the most enduring things that occur in a college man’s life are the friendships that he makes in a Greek fraternity. The friends I made at Colorado Gamma Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon have lasted a lifetime. The brotherly love, the virtues learned and the camaraderie that was acquired, all in an educational setting, are invaluable. I want other young men to have that same opportunity that my predecessors gave to me.” –Al Hornung ’61 Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future You are the only one who can place a value on your Colorado Gamma membership—the lifelong friendships you made, the development of your values and principles, and the many ways SigEp enhanced your college years and the years since graduation. Your investment in the future of Colorado Gamma will ensure the continued success of our chapter and that future CSU undergraduates have the opportunity for the SigEp experience you enjoyed. Colorado State fraternities, and specifically SigEp, still play a critical role in shaping the lives of young men. Sigma Phi Epsilon provides a small-group living environment that offers our members a well- rounded learning experience, affording the opportunity for high academic achievement and the development of leadership and social skills. Together with our undergraduate brothers, the volunteer leadership of the Red Door House Corporation and campaign leadership board, which consists of 13 additional Colorado Gamma brothers, are committed to this major undertaking. Each of us benefited from the generosity, work, and sacrifice of those who came before us. We all enjoyed the friendships and brotherhood established during our years at Colorado State. Now it is our turn to invest in the future of Colorado Gamma and pay it forward. Please answer the call. The commitment you make today cannot be underestimated—it will have a far-reaching effect on the lives of our Colorado Gamma brothers for decades to come. INSPIRING OUR FUTURE RED DOOR HOUSE CORPORATION Chairman and President Bryan A. Harmsen ’01 Director and Secretary Albert Hornung ’61 Director and Alumni & Volunteer Committee Chairman Tony Mauro ’99 Director and Design/ Construction Committee Chairman Mitch Christ ’79 Director Emeritus Archie Lind ’64 RED DOOR ALUMNI & VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE Director and Chairman Tony Mauro ’99 Chapter Counselor Todd Donavan ’86 Members-at-Large Josh Clark ’02 Ross Hendrix ’07 Ben Lucas ’07 Rita Williams, Housemother “I can’t imagine how much different my years at CSU would have been without the friendships I forged sharing the brotherhood of Colorado Gamma. Thirty-five years later many of those friendships are just as constant and just as strong. I think it’s important all alums who were lucky enough to be part of that chapter house experience do what we can to make sure it’s available to the young men who want to represent Colorado Gamma in the years ahead.” –Jim Benemann ’78 I believe in the American college fraternity. I believe in Sigma Phi Epsilon. I believe in this fraternity because it would have me strive in every way to live up to the high principles for which it stands. These are VIRTUE, DILIGENCE, AND BROTHERLY LOVE. I believe that the word Virtue is an inclusive term; that it is not enough that I be merely passively virtuous: I must be positive on virtue’s behalf. Therefore, I will stand aggressively for honesty in all walks of life, and I will speak cleanly, play cleanly, and live cleanly. Whenever I can, I will oppose lawlessness and vice. I believe that unless I succeed in being Diligent, I cannot be a good fraternity member. Believing that my fraternity can be no greater than any of its members, I shall strive to make it so high and so worthy that men will consider it an honor and privilege to belong to it, and will strive to be admitted to it. I will not offer concessions to an individual to secure his affiliation, for thus making concessions makes the man more noteworthy than the fraternity and hence only succeeds in lowering it in his estimation as well as mine. I believe that Brotherly Love must be given in order to be received, and that it cannot exist without triumph of the principles of Virtue and Diligence, for these are essential parts of it. I believe that a man will be made better for having been a member of my fraternity. I know that I cannot expect the Neophyte to be a finished product. Rather I will try to discover whether or not the environment and contact with men of high ideals will make of him a good fraternity man. I believe that as a good fraternity member I must share a rich kinship of spirit with my brothers. Yet I realize that the members must be men of diversified abilities and talents. Among them are to be found the scholar, the athlete, the builder and craftsman, and the organization leader. But the scholar cannot make a fraternity. Nor can the athlete. Nor the craftsman. The good fraternity member must be par excellent in manhood. I believe that to be a good member I must be loyal to my fraternity. In order to be loyal to it I must love it. In order to love it I must strive constantly to make it worthy of my love. To be loyal to my fraternity I must gain a knowledge of it so that I may understand it. I have an obligation to understand what brotherhood means. I believe that in any organized society group rights and privileges are based on individual rights and privileges; that in my fraternity I possess the same rights and privileges and have the same duties as my fellow members. Therefore, I shall at all times respect duly the rights of others. I believe that obedience to the laws of my community and my country is essential to good citizenship; that the laws and rules of my fraternity and my chapter are intended to regulate the actions of its members, one with another, and that without fidelity to those laws and rules I cannot be a good citizen and a worthy member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. I believe I should be generous with the faults of a brother, as I should wish him to be with mine. –Oscar E. Draper, Washington State 1919 Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future The Campaign for Colorado Gamma P.O. Box 2051 • 121 East Lake St. • Fort Collins, CO 80522-2051 academic performance, a participating chapter accredited as an RLC is eligible to receive other benefits. An RLC chapter has the opportunity to apply to the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation for grant funding to support educational facility improvements. WHAT IS A RESIDENTIAL LEARNING COMMUNITY? install new dishwasher, ice maker, range hood, and reach-in freezer Basement First Floor Second Floor our future. The conceptual design for the renovation/library addition has been accepted by the City of Fort Collins. We will maintain our current non-conforming use designation under the zoning code, thereby eliminating the need to add any on-site parking or interior ADA compliance. The conceptual design is optimized for an occupancy of 40 beds while maintaining a maximum occupancy of 48 beds as is currently accepted by the City. The plan includes adding showers in all the bathrooms, new laundry facilities in the basement, and updated kitchen and after-hours servery. With the goal of making Colorado Gamma a best-practices accredited Residential Learning Community, the proposed design updates the resident scholar suite (housemother/presidential suite) including an ADA-compliant bathroom, a new 740-square-foot vaulted ceiling library addition with a study loft, and a new multi-media room. Based upon preliminary City approval, the plan includes restoring the sleeping lofts to certain rooms on the third floor (one-hour construction and fire sprinklers).