National Acquires New International Headquarters Building
We are excited to announce that by January 2014, Theta Chi Fraternity International Headquarters will officially have a new building to welcome brothers and guests!
Since December 21, 1993, Theta Chi has been proud to call 3330 Founders Road in Indianapolis, Indiana its home. Over the course of the last 20 years, the property has served as administrative offices, a training facility, and as the Theta Chi Archives.
The last several years have been a time of unprecedented growth within Theta Chi, bringing record-breaking initiation numbers. As the Fraternity has grown, so too has the demand for services by our members and chapters. This has resulted in an increase in the number of staff members and required facility space. Anyone who has visited the headquarters recently will note that we currently have staff members utilizing space that was never meant to be work areas!
Though discussions over the need for a new building started as far back as 2010, during the Fall of 2012, an intensive study and search process for a new headquarters building officially commenced. During this process, a wide variety of options were considered ranging from constructing a new building to purchasing an existing structure. After much thoughtful discussion and consideration by the leadership of the International Fraternity, a decision was made to purchase a building located at 865 W. Carmel Drive, in Carmel, Indiana, a northern suburb of Indianapolis.
The new building on Carmel drive is over 30,000 square feet, more than three times the size of the current building. As Theta Chi will not need use of the entire building at this time, commercial tenants have been identified to lease the unoccupied space. The income generated from these tenants will be used to service the mortgage on the new building, which will allow the fraternity to continue to provide the same level of services to Chapters and members without the need to divert funding from important fraternity programs. Furthermore, the design and layout of the building will enable the space occupied by the headquarters to expand or contract depending upon our future needs.
In addition to providing a much needed expansion for the conduct of the day-to-day business of the Fraternity, the new building will have features that none of our previous headquarters were able to offer due to their space limitations. The new building will contain a Model Chapter Room that will be available for the conduct of Ritual activities, meetings, and educational training. The new headquarters will also feature an expanded Theta Chi Museum and Archives for the display of our priceless historical treasures. These improvements and others will further position Theta Chi to compete at the highest levels among our peers in the interfraternal world.
The fraternity has developed plans governing the transfer of named rooms and bricks from the property on Founders Road to the future Carmel Drive location. Those individuals who have purchased headquarters naming opportunities will be contacted separately in the weeks ahead and advised of how such recognitions will be transferred.
The building on Founders Road is currently on the market for sale. Any brothers or friends who know of potential buyers are invited and encouraged to contact Associate Executive Director Jim Powell (317-824-1881 / jpowell@thetachi.org) or myself.
I would like to personally and publicly thank all those within the fraternity leadership who helped to make the acquisition of this new facility a reality. The members of the Grand Chapter under the leadership of National President Dick Elder dedicated countless hours of study and due diligence to ensure that the decision to acquire this new facility was made with the best long-term interest of Theta Chi in mind. I also wish to thank our Brothers serving on the Norwich Housing Corporation and Foundation Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, who provided substantial support to this effort.
A very special thank you goes to Norwich Housing Corporation President Mike Kistler, who led the efforts to identify and acquire this property at the governing board level. Brother Kistler’s expertise in the commercial real estate industry proved to be invaluable to both the International Headquarters Staff and Grand Chapter. Without Mike’s involvement, this building acquisition would not have occurred.
The headquarters will continue to occupy the facility on Founders Road until necessary construction work and upgrades are completed on the new building. As such, all correspondence to the Fraternity should continue to be directed to our current address (3330 Founders Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268-1333) until further notice. We are anticipating a move to the new building in late December or January. The fraternity will announce any changes of address and/or contact information via our website at www.thetachi.org.
Plans are in the works for a dedication and grand opening of the new International Headquarters building in late spring 2014. Details on this event will be published before the end of the calendar year and all chapters and brothers will be invited to attend.
I hope each of you join in the excitement of this historic move which will allow the headquarters to better serve its chapters and members. I look forward to welcoming you very soon to the International Fraternity’s newest home!
Fraternally,
