Pride in our House and our Fraternity - Undergraduates Paint New Letters on the Balcony

Just in time for fall rush, contractors are finally leaving the property and the undergraduates are finishing the work and cleaning up.  The last six weeks have been a time of many changes at 159 5th Street.

Basic infrastructure items that had worn out have been replaced or repaired including plumbing, fixtures, sheetrock and HVAC units.

The treads in the old stairwells have been repaired after 37 years of continuous (ab)use.  The social quarters has been repainted inside and pressure washed outside.  The conference room is stunning.

The changes to the kitchen are transformational and will be described later.  Suffice it to say for now that Reagan has been heading that up and he thinks that everyone should eat good meals and know how to cook them themselves.

The good-hearted attempt but not well-measured letters that adorned the balcony that overlooks the volleyball court have been redesigned and replaced by the undergrads themselves…and it looks sharp.

Work Week 2009 - Yeah Baby!

Why all this when we intend a major renovation soon?

Because TKE at Georgia Tech is fundamentally a residential experience and we must provide a high-quality facility at all times if we expect undergraduates and alumni to support that.  To maintain our facilities, the BOT has taken on many responsibilities that rested with the undergraduates.  However, we are formalizing the responsibilities that remain with them in a program called “Two-a-Week” that will be rolled out early in the fall.

It has been said, “If you can’t change the people, change the people.”  Well, we’ve done some of both and that will probably continue until both undergraduate and alumni organizations are ready for the Big Project.  It is plain to see, however, that we have already come a long way.

The BOT is coordinating some major projects during Summer 2009 designed to enable the current facilities to last “in good form” until the upcoming major renovation is complete.   These projects address long term maintenance and quality of life issues that affect the ability of the undergrads to recruit new members now and the perception the alumni have of the level of care shown for the property.  This will be the last major round of work on the property until the upcoming major renovation.

We are starting to convert our kitchen from a service facility to a teaching facility.  Tasks include a major scrub-down, new non-skid floor, refinished walls, and new and refurbished equipment to make it possible to make make more and buy less pre-made.

The kitchen is temporarily unavailable for cooking

In the dormitory, showers, sinks and cabinets that had simply worn out and would no longer respond to cleaning are being replaced.  We are using tiles left over from the 1996 project to replace worn out flooring.

Outside, we are repairing and replacing exterior trim and gutters that need it.  When this work is complete, we will have a professional firm power wash the exterior to remove deep-seated dirt and other contaminants.

When you come by the house this fall, you will notice more changes than even we anticipated–and we haven’t even said anything about the interior painting yet.