The redevelopment of Greek Court will begin its first stage on May 1 when the first four lots of the new Greek Village become available for lease.

According to John Mountz, the Director of Greek Life, the project is expected to last 12 to 14 years.

“We’re really enthusiastic about the redevelopment of Greek Court,” Mountz said. “We have a lot of support from the alumni of the Greek organizations, and we tried to come up with a plan that would accommodate the needs of Greek Life.”

During the project’s time frame, the existing buildings on Greek Court, which the University owns, will be demolished and alumni of Greek organizations will be able to commit to leasing the lots to build houses for the use of their old fraternities and sororities, Mountz said.

“It’s a good thing to have active Greek organizations on campus, and a these organizations deserve facilities that meet their needs,” Ryne McCall, a junior in computer engineering, said. “The creation of the new Greek Village sounds like a good plan to me.”

The project is broken down into four phases, according to Mountz. The first four organizations that commit to building houses will receive the lots, he said.

Before construction begins, the existing Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Nu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon houses will be demolished and infrastructure and utilities will be installed.

“We plan to move the Greek organizations to unoccupied houses on the court when we demolish their existing house,” Mountz said. “And I believe that we will be able to begin phase one without having to displace any organizations.”

The plan calls for construction to begin in August 2008 with the first house to open in August 2009. According to Mountz, the average cost of one house will be between $1.5 million and $3.5 million. The total cost of the entire Greek Court Redevelopment Project is expected to be around $104 million, he said.

Roughly $50 million, Mountz said, will come from the alumni organizations to build the houses.

“Greek Life does a lot of good both on campus and in the surrounding community,” Hank Howie, a freshman in history, said. “In the long run, the benefits of the redevelopment will outweigh the costs.”

In addition to the Greek houses alumni purchase, the redevelopment plans call for the construction of an amphitheater, pavilions, playing fields, a community center and a Greek townhouse for small Greek organizations. The Greek Court area, Mountz said, will be expanded from its current size of 20 acres to roughly 40 acres.