University soon to have Greek Village

A Greek village may soon be housed at the corner of Dave Ward Drive and Farris Road on the 12.5 acres south of the Jewel F. Moore Nature Reserve.
University administration, as well as student leaders from each Greek organization and Student Government Association, has approved the site as the location for the possible Greek village.
Dean of Students Gary Roberts said: “Eventually the Board of Trustees will need to give final approval for the entire project. But, from initial conversations we’ve had with members, they’re very interested in the project. They have not given us final approval because we have to come up with the financing of the project and we have to develop lease agreements with the groups. Once that happens we can go to the board of trustees and they can give their final blessings.”
The administration is working with Architect Wali Caradine of Little Rock and Nabholz Construction of Conway on preliminary drawings and costs of the project. They should have a basic idea of what the project will cost this week.
The preliminary drawings of Greek Village show a larger complex that would house smaller Greek organizations and individual houses for the larger organizations. However, the plans are all subject to change.
“We had the question of ‘how do we accommodate our very small groups?’ It’s not cost effective to build a house because they don’t have enough members to fill the beds. So, we developed a large complex to house our smaller groups. For middle-sized groups there is the possibility of townhouses where you build a large Greek house but kind of split it down the middle and two groups live there,” Roberts said.
Funding for the project has yet to be decided on. However, there are a few possibilities for funding that are strong candidates.
“In terms of the revenue, there are two things we’re looking at. One is seeking private donations to build the project. The second part of the funding, in addition to private donations, is where we would work with the UCA Foundation where they would sell bonds to help fund the project,” Roberts said.
The Greek organizations would also have to sign long-term leases where they agree to have a certain number of occupants live in the house. Those students would pay rent that is similar to the costs of living in a dorm. There is also the possibility that members of the Greek organizations would pay a chapter room fee that would go toward the costs of the project.
It “is a very common practice in the United States for Greek organizations to pay these fees,” Roberts said.
Roberts believes that now is the time to build due to the economy and availability of space.
“If we wait five or 10 years from now, that area may be designated for something else,” Roberts said.
People involved with the project plan to take special care to see that the Greek village does not harm the nature reserve.
“This is located south of the nature reserve. It will not encroach upon or overlap the nature reserve. In fact, we’ll be working with the individuals that oversee the nature reserve when we get together with the architects and civil engineers. We’ll be working with them to make sure we do not interfere with the nature reserve. We’re very sensitive to that issue. We want to make sure we don’t harm the nature reserve,” Roberts said.
The buildings themselves would also have to fit in with the look of the campus.
They “are going to have to fit in with the red brick Georgian colonial design,” Roberts said.
But, each Greek organization may be able to work with the architects to make their particular house unique.
“We’re going to layout what the general costs will be. But, if a group comes in and says, “we want to do hardwood floors or granite countertops; or something like that, we can work with groups as long as they raise the money to do that. The alumni may want to come in and do some additional funding to do enhancements to the house, then that is a possibility,” Roberts said.
Director of Fraternity Life Scott Insenga said: “For the first time in the history of UCA this will bring all the Greek organizations to the same area at the same time and it’ll put everyone in a place where they can actually interact in a more cooperative way. So instead of having to plan places to meet, they can say ‘well let’s just meet in Greek village.’ It’s a centralized area. It’s a powerful thing we’re all going to see. If you want to go Greek you’ll know where to go. I really think it’s going to bring UCA Greek life as a whole together.”
Roberts said he believes a Greek village will be a good recruitment tool for the university.
“The main thing we like is that it’s a very visible location on campus. When new students and parents come to campus, they typically drive around campus to see what it looks like and this is on a major thoroughfare and parents and students are going to be looking, and for us this is going to be quite a recruitment tool for the university,” Roberts said.