Chi Phi's preservation pledge

Doing a little more digging regarding Chi Phi and Arnocroft, I came across a cached page from the chapter's now defunct web site.

It touted the acquisition of the property, calling it the 'most beautiful lot in Athens' in addition to other things ...

Chi Phi has purchased a prime 2.11 acre lot on Milledge Avenue for $1.75 million, considered by many to be both unique and the “most beautiful” lot in Athens. On this lot, we plan to build a replica of the existing 290 S. Lumpkin Street Chi Phi House, in essence relocating the House to the new location. The process will take 2-3 years, and we will stay at the existing location in the process.

The most crucial remaining issue, other than funding, is the issue of proper zoning of the new lot for the Chi Phi House. We believe that the zoning will be approved, and it has the full support of UGA. The lot is located at 925 S. Milledge Avenue, on the intersection of S. Milledge and Rutherford. It is about a 5-minute walk from the lot to the UGA track, and thus to the football stadium and the campus. It is next door to the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority House, three doors from the Tri Delt Sorority House, and across the street from the Lamba Chi Alpha Fraternity House.

In the left front corner of the lot, there is an existing 3,500 square foot house that is part of the acquisition. It is a beautiful historic house, known as “Arnocroft” built in 1903, and has been used by the Athens Junior League as their home for a number of years. We intend to retain the house, and use it initially as an office of the Chi Phi Education Trust and to rent to law and graduate students. The existing house will not interfere with the central location of the new Chi Phi House in the prime location of the property. ...

Those of you who wonder why our alumni would give up our 290 S. Lumpkin Street location, please consider the following. First, we were in a very questionable legal position, and had the possibility of ending up with nothing – no current house, no private land, and even no opportunity to move to River Road. Second, we literally had a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to acquire the most beautiful lot in Athens, an opportunity we would have lost had we waited four days later. Indeed, the new lot may be the last privately owned fraternity house built in metropolitan Athens, due to the new Athens City Ordinance, as the current lot due to its size and location seems to meet the requirements of the ordinance, and it is unlikely that any other private location ever will. Not only is the new lot beautiful, but we have an existing house that we can use for some purposes, as we plan to relocate the Chi Phi House to the new location. The bottom line is that everyone objectively reviewing the situation agrees with our decision. We might add that the agreement with the University was reached in the spirit of mutual good faith, cooperation, and good will. It is important for us to continue to have this excellent relationship with UGA, which we believe we now have.