The University of Tennessee’s Morgan Hill will soon welcome its first sorority women as Sorority Village opens its first set of houses for the fall semester.
UT expects seven houses to be completed this fall, with as many as 270 women living in the development by the end of the semester. UT anticipates at least three houses opening in time for fall classes, which begin August 22.
Sorority Village will have thirteen houses and one administrative/meeting building once it is completed next year. Sorority fall recruitment is set for August 19—26 at the Panhellenic Building on Cumberland Avenue and at the completed properties within Sorority Village, with transportation provided between the two locations.
The chapters with houses opening in this first phase are:
- Delta Zeta
- Alpha Chi Omega
- Kappa Delta
- Delta Delta Delta
- Alpha Delta Pi
- Sigma Kappa
- Kappa Kappa Gamma
The administrative/meeting building will also open this fall. The university is funding a portion of the facility for its administrative offices and meeting space. Alpha Kappa Alpha is funding the other portion and will have a dedicated space within.
All new property is subject to compliance reviews and a fire marshal inspection before they open.
In the works for more than six years, work began on the Sorority Village infrastructure in the fall of 2009.
Chapters are funding their houses in full through private donations and mortgage agreements that will be paid through rent and chapter fees. Each house is estimated to cost between $3 million and $5 million. Once construction is complete, the total private investment in Sorority Village is expected to exceed $45 million.
Houses were bid as separate projects through the state Building Commission, and UT is managing the construction contracts. The houses range from 9,000 to 17,000 square feet, with the largest houses accommodating up to forty-eight women.
View a few commonly asked questions about the development.
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CONTACT:
Karen Simsen (865-974-5186, karen.simsen@tennessee.edu)