For the seventh time in Lambda Chi Alpha’s history, the Office of Administration (OOA) will be getting a new mailing address. On June 14, 2021, the OOA is relocating to 10 West Carmel Drive, Suite 220, Carmel, Indiana.
While moving is never fun nor easy, when opportunity knocks it’s wise to evaluate the alternatives. Especially, when the opportunity allows to better serve both our collegiate and alumni Brothers at a significant financial savings while improving overall functionality.
This decision was made in collaboration with the Grand High Zeta, Student Advisory Committee and OOA team for three primary reasons. First, as we seek to be good financial stewards of the membership dues entrusted to us, the move will result in significant financial savings over the next decade. Second, the new space, located in the heart of Carmel, is state-of-the-art, allowing our teams to work collaboratively in a more open environment to develop and implement effective programming and provide “first in class” chapter support. Third, by designing the space from scratch, we are incorporating a world-class museum that showcases our traditions, principles and ideals while demonstrating the impact that Lambda Chi Alpha and its members have had on society since our founding.
“This move gives us the opportunity to create a space of collaboration for the OOA team, while also displaying the rich history of Lambda Chi Alpha for our members and the public alike,” said Mike Covert, Director of Information Technology.
Though the pandemic impacted many operations of the Fraternity, an opportunity to significantly save resources with this new space over the next 10 years was identified. Over these last 18 months, it increasingly became apparent that OOA’s current location was no longer best suited to serve chapters, provide effective programing, and create a healthy and attractive work environment in today’s world.
“Our existing office setup wastes space on hallways, closets too small to store anything, and single-person offices meant for another era,” said Lambda Chi Alpha CEO Troy Medley.
Gen Z doesn’t want to work this way. By moving, we become the first tenant in a new building and save over $1,000,000 versus staying in our current space.
Troy Medley
“We worked with our existing landlord to retrofit the current space to meet our needs, but it was cost prohibitive. Moving was the best and most cost-effective option.”
With these significant savings, the OOA team will reinvest in Fraternity-wide programming to improve the value and membership experience.
“In order to optimize expenditure of member resources, the OOA team is constantly looking for opportunities to reduce costs and/or enhance efficiency,” said Steve Pattison, Grand High Tau. “The office move accomplished both objectives by reducing the cash outlay for office space rental while at the same time providing a more modern work environment that enhances communication and collaboration among the OOA team.”
In addition to the exciting physical space, the OOA team looks forward to ushering in a new chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha history in the form of a new and updated museum.
Working with the Parallel Design Group, HistoryIT and a working group of alumni brothers, the new space is designed to tell the story of Lambda Chi in a more robust and holistic way. All artifacts will be digitized over the course of the next three years. Those historical items not on physical display at the new museum will be archived and available for review virtually. This will allow the Lambda Chi Alpha story to be told everywhere.
