Theta Chi alumni and potential members will get to survey the construction of the fraternity’s new house at 219 Ash Ave. during a barbecue party Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.

“The barbecue will be a great time to show off the house,” said Alex O’Brien, Theta Chi summer recruiter.

When the fraternity’s old house was destroyed by fire in October of 1996, Theta Chi members were forced to move elsewhere on campus and in Ames. Since then, plans for a new house have been underway.

O’Brien said members had been rounding up alumni support for more than two years, and construction finally began in November. As many as 51 members will be able to move into the house Aug. 1, he said.

The new house will be worth $1.4 million and probably will be one of the most expensive greek houses in Iowa, said Jon Fleming, Theta Chi chapter adviser and former member.

He said, with financial support from alumni, the house will be the premier greek facility on campus.

“It has set a high standard for fraternities on campus,” he said. “I don’t use that to flex our muscles, but I use that as a challenge to other greek houses to step up to the plate and improve their houses.”

Fleming said fraternity members have worked very hard on the project.

“They are a lot stronger than I was as a college student,” he said.

Theta Chi members have not let the destruction of their home get them down. They still are as active in their fraternity as they were before the fire.

“We have not let this be a barrier for them to continue to function as a house,” O’Brien said.

Members have been meeting at the Memorial Union for the past two and a half years, he said.

The barbecue will be hosted by Theta Chi members and is open to anyone who wants to look at the construction site but is specifically targeted to potential members and alumni, Fleming said.

“It will bring the alumni up to date on the construction process and will be the first opportunity for them to view the house,” he said.