Syracuse University’s Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity will move out of its house, located at 727 Comstock Ave., at the end of this semester. The fraternity Phi Gamma Delta will move into the residence next fall.

Sigma Alpha Mu, commonly referred to as Sammy, has occupied the house since 2007. The property is owned by the fraternity Zeta Psi, whose chapter left SU’s campus the same year.

“Sammy decided that they would go in one direction and we decided to go in another,” said Stan Gorski, Zeta Psi’s SU alumni president.

Phi Gamma Delta, known as FIJI, signed a three-year lease, said Erich Grundman, former president of SU’s FIJI chapter.

Negotiations to renew Sammy’s lease began last fall, Gorski said.

Although the Zeta Psi fraternity gave Sammy favorable conditions to maintain the lease, he said, the package offered by FIJI was better in the long-term interest of the property.

“It was a difficult decision for both parties,” Gorski said. “We had been working together for some time. Whenever you have a long-term relationship with a party on a commercial basis, it’s always a challenge.”

Zeta Psi has owned the house since the late 1800s, Gorski said. Since renting to Sammy in 2007, Zeta Psi has always been clear of its intentions to bring the fraternity back to campus.

The current lease between Sammy and Zeta Psi was a “unique operation.” The Zeta Psi fraternity was looking to establish a more traditional landlord-tenant relationship, he said.

Grundman, FIJI’s former president, said chapter alumni “did most of the legwork” and that current FIJI brothers and SU’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs were not involved in the negotiations.

The 26 FIJI brothers currently reside in an off-campus house, located at 726 Ostrom Ave., he said.

The president of the SU Sammy chapter declined to comment and the fraternity’s national headquarters could not be reached for comment.

“We’re excited about moving forward,” said Gorski, Zeta Psi’s SU alumni president. “We’re sorry that the relationship with Sammy will change, but I think everyone will be in a good place.”

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Published on March 30, 2013 at 11:06 pm

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93