University-owned fraternity and sorority houses will undergo renovations this summer to ensure that the properties are safe and up to code.
Twenty-two of the 36 chapter houses at Penn will benefit from the repair efforts. The chapters will pay for repairs, but the University will be setting up a program for loans with easy repayment plans, according to Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Scott Reikofski.
Officials said that they could not yet estimate the total cost of the renovations.
Director of Finance Pamela Arms estimated that as a result of the renovations, average rent would increase by "less than six percent" for residents of the houses.
Despite the increase in rent, both students and administrators seem to be positive about the upcoming repairs.
"Obviously, our first concern is for properties to be safe," Reikofski said.
The repairs to be made this summer will focus on more complicated structural matters, including reconfiguration of rooms and hallways, electrical upgrades and changes in stair railings. The upgrades are expected to be completed by 2007.
Arms said that none of the houses violates Philadelphia codes at present. However, she did note that "none of these houses have had major structural work in a long time -- since that time, codes have changed."
The administration worked with both the affected students and chapter alumni to deal with the financial aspects of the repairs.
Engineering junior and Beta Theta Pi president Doug Petkanics said that he was "incredibly pleased with the repairs the University is doing on [his] house."
In addition to ensuring that everything in the house is up to code -- as in all of the chapter houses -- Beta will have its bathrooms redone.
Petkanics said that the rent increase was "not really an issue."
Beta will be paying for its repairs with a combination of University loans and its own funds.
To some degree, the change in rent will have to do with "how well specific houses have managed their own budget," Arms said.
"If you live in a fraternity or sorority house, this is what Penn has to offer," Vice Provost for University Life spokeswoman Leah Smith said of the repairs.
Reikofski agreed.
"This is the first time in a while [the University] has been able to systematically put funding into the houses," he said.
Both Arms and Smith said that the renovations would be beneficial in the long run.
"It's really about the future of the house and the generations to come," Smith said.
