The new Sigma Chi house style will reflect that of the buildings on campus upon its completion in December.

The 20-month wait for a new house is winding down for the brothers of Sigma Chi fraternity.

After their fraternity house burnt down on April 10, 2004, 13 brothers were without a home.

The house burnt down Easter weekend last year, and fortunately most of the brothers weren't inside it. A disengaged gas line from the boiler system caused the fire.

The following year was a struggle for all the brothers who had planned on living in the house for the 2004-05 school year.

"It was a scramble to find a place to stay," said John Brennan (junior, marketing), a Sigma Chi brother."I had three guys living in my attic," he said.

Nearly nine months after the fire, in January, the agreement was in place to rebuild the house.

And now, five weeks before the start of fall semester, the $600,000 house is closer than ever to being finished. Brennan plans on living in the fraternity house this year.

However, the brothers will not be living in a house for a third full semester.

According to Warren Peter, general contractor and owner of Warren Peter Construction Inc., the house should be ready at the end of the fall semester.

"Completion is expected in December," Peter said."We are running along well. The weather has been fairly co-operative and we expect to continue to be on schedule."

The outside of the house is a work in progress. It is nearly complete as only the roof and the siding need to be finished.

The brothers will probably all move in at the beginning of the 2006 spring semester.

"We are guaranteed to live in the house spring semester," Brennan said.

The new house is completely redesigned. It will have 10 bedrooms and five bathrooms along with a library and a study area. Eighteen brothers will live in the house.

The exterior of the house will be re-designed as well. The style will reflect the same as that of buildings on campus.

The house will also be technologically updated.

All the rooms will have wireless Internet access.

While this ordeal has been inconvenient at the least, it has been a rewarding experience for all the brothers.

"This definitely brought us closer together," said Brennan. "We all pulled together and kept the fraternity running without a fraternity house on campus."

The brothers survived and plan on coming back in the spring to continue the 30-plus years they have been a part of this campus.