The Ole Miss chapter of Phi Mu will be the first sorority on campus to oversee construction of an apartment complex from the ground up.
Taylor Road Cottages, located near the Domain and the Connection apartments, will be finished in August 2017, ready for members of the Phi Mu sophomore pledge class to move in.
Laura Jones, a Phi Mu alumna and treasurer of the Phi Mu House Corporation Board, said that in the past, sororities would rent out entire floors in Crosby Hall for the sophomore pledge classes. Jones said that with the number of freshmen continuing to grow each year, that option is no longer available.
“One day out of the blue, the university kicked all of the sophomores off campus, saying we don’t have any room for them,” Jones said.
In response, many sororities began renting out already existing apartment complexes so their sophomore pledge class can live together.
Phi Mu is not building the complex itself. Jones said that about a year ago, the House Corporation was looking for a living space off-campus for the sophomore pledge class when a builder she knows in town, McCurdy Russom Construction, made an offer.
MR Construction told Jones the construction company actually had a piece of property on North Taylor Road, where they were already thinking about building.
“Phi Mu House Corporation stepped in and signed a lease with MR Construction for five years guaranteeing 100 percent occupancy,” Jones said.
Jones said although Phi Mu is not actually building Taylor Road Cottages itself, Phi Mu has had a lot of influence by working with MR Construction at such an early stage in construction.
Jones said the builder came and met with the chapter and representatives from the sorority to talk about things they would want on the property.
“These are top-of-the-line condos, with internet, cable, granite countertops, custom carpet,” Jones said. “They’re really nice, and at a competitive rate.”
Construction of the Taylor Road Cottages, which will feature study rooms, a pool and workout room.
The Taylor Road Cottages will have study rooms, a pool and workout room.
Jones said the best part of working together with MR Construction, as opposed to renting out part of an already existing complex, is knowing that it’s “all Phi Mu-exclusive.”
“We won’t have random people,” Jones said. “Some complexes are so big, it’s not just college students living there.”
Jones said living at Taylor Road Cottages is not mandatory but is highly encouraged, as living together will allow the sophomore pledge class to become more involved in the sorority and make closer friends.
Jones said she remembers being halfway through her freshman year at Ole Miss and being unsure about where she was going to live. The House Corporation takes the burden of searching for a place to live off the Phi Mu freshmen.
“We’re just helping to facilitate it,” Jones said. “It just makes it easier on the pledge class to know someone’s already checked it out.”
Phaedra Craig, junior integrated marketing communications major and the president of Phi Mu, said she is excited about Taylor Road Cottages, especially in regards to helping Phi Mus transition from living on campus to off.
“Sophomore year is a completely different lifestyle,” Craig said. “You never lived by yourself, never had to worry about paying bills.”
Craig said she believes Taylor Road Cottages will not only make the adjustment from freshman to sophomore year easier but will also make the sisterhood stronger.
Phi Mu freshmen Ramelle Mueller and her future roommates, Sarah Berry and Rowan Baird, said they are all very excited about living space together.
“It’s another way for our sorority to be stronger,” Mueller said. “I hate being that annoying generic sorority girl, but I’ve met some amazing people, and I love being social”.
Berry and Baird said they were unsure of their living arrangements for sophomore year, but Phi Mu House Corporation alleviated their stress.
“I started looking around with friends to get an idea, but as soon as Phi Mu was like, ‘It’s already planned,’ I was like, ‘Boom, let’s go,’” Baird said.
Baird said that right now her pledge class is “spread all over campus” but living together will make it much more convenient to hang out.
“Apart from Phi Mu, there was no one else I wanted to live with,” Baird said. “I love all of these girls, and I could live with any of them.”
Baird and Berry aren’t worried that living exclusively with other Phi Mus will prevent them from meeting new people.
“We’re just the type of people that will meet new people anyway,” Berry said.
Baird and Berry said they are looking forward to borrowing each other’s clothes and doing each other’s makeup.
“There will be makeup and glitter everywhere,” Berry said.
Ramelle Mueller on left, Sarah Berry in the middle and Rowan Baird on right. (Courtesy: Rowan Baird)
“There’ll be a trail on the sidewalk passing Phi Mu of pink glitter,” Baird said.
