Former KD house stays empty

As Greeks expand their presence on campus, finding residences to house newly colonized chapters is becoming increasingly difficult. But the former Kappa Delta sorority house at 3809 Walnut Street has remained empty for over a year. Kappa Delta sisters occupied the house for a year after the chapter disbanded in December 1994. But the sorority decided it could no longer afford to maintain the house and sold it to the University last January, according to Associate Treasurer Chris Mason. Now, the future of the house is "kind of up in the air," he said. A few companies approached the University about turning the house into offices, but nothing came of these inquiries, Mason explained. He added that the University monitors the house, but is not actively seeking residents or workers to fill it. "It's not like a huge building sitting vacant," he said, explaining that operating costs involved with maintaining the building are "very minimal" and that the house poses no great financial burden to the University. Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski said Greeks have not recently inquired about the house because they were unaware of its availability. Although OFSA looked into purchasing the property from the Kappa Delts, Reikofski said the Greeks were told the University planned to convert the residence into an office building. But now that they know the residence is available, OFSA will probably explore the possibility of obtaining the house on behalf of the Greek chapters, Reikofski said, adding that some chapters currently occupy smaller houses while others have no houses at all. Finding occupants for the house on Walnut Street could benefit the neighborhood, Mason said. An office building "may help change the nature of the area" which is primarily occupied by student residences and convenience stores, he added. But as opposed to an office building, which would probably remain open for only part of each day, Reikofski said a fraternity or sorority's presence would better serve the West Philadelphia neighborhood. "If there's a Greek chapter house there, then there's a presence 24 hours," he said. Mason said he is unsure why the Kappa Delta house has remained empty for so long. The former ACACIA house at 3829 Walnut Street was the only other Greek residence to have remained empty for a lengthy period of time. But ACACIA was only empty for "a few months" before Lambda Phi Epsilon moved in, Mason added.