ALPHA GAMMA RHO FRATERNITY

Sinclair Hille Architects provided architectural design services to WRK and Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity for a new house across from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus. The new $4.5 million fraternity, along Holdrege Street between Idylwild Drive and 37th Street, replaced the original house, built in 1955-56. The new three-story house includes a total of 15,200 square-feet, with a total of 64-beds for fraternity members. The first-level includes a dining hall, parlor with fireplace, restrooms, and accommodations for the chapter House Mother. The upper two floors include 24 two-man rooms and 4 four-man rooms. The second-living level includes a walk-out balcony accessed through a commons lounge; as well as supporting amenities for both in-house and out-of-house brothers.  

The design and public approval process for the Alpha Gamma Rho project involved a considerable consensus-building effort with the east campus neighborhood and City Planning Department. A series of neighborhood meetings were held to present concepts and gather input from the surrounding neighbors and East Campus Historic District Committee (ECHDC). The project removed three houses to accommodate a larger parking lot, but the willingness of fraternity representatives, WRK, LLC and Sinclair Hille to work with neighbors overcame initial opposition. The sensitive design approach taken by the project team played a significant role in achieving neighborhood support.