The funding for the new Sigma Chi fraternity house is underway, though it will not announce the capital campaign to the alumni until the fall.

Construction will likely start in summer 2012 and be completed by winter 2013. The temporary position for the members of Sigma Chi next year has not been announced.

“It is typical to spend a period of time developing plans, gaining support from the city and financial backing of key alumni on an endeavor this large before it is publicly announced,” said Jon Hall, Sigma Chi corporation president.

The Ames City Council approved the demolition of the fraternity in May so it can build a new one on its current location.

“Gaining the City of Ames and Iowa State’s approvals was a key milestone we required before going forward with the campaign to our over 1,100 living alumni,” Hall said.

The fundraising event is currently in a quiet phase.

“We want to raise a certain amount of money before we make an announcement,” said Rick Burnett, campaign chair for the fundraising effort. “We have approximately 1,000 living alumni, the fundraiser is meant to get in touch with many of those men and to ask them to participate in this project.”

The fraternity has been working for 10 months to raise money for the project through utilizing the alumni network.

“We’re trying to reach a certain dollar amount of money pledged to this effort to a very small group of alumni,” Burnett said. “You target alumni who have deep pockets and might be willing to contribute because Sigma Chi meant a lot to them.”