Penn State buys former fraternity house where Timothy Piazza was fatally hurt
Penn State trustees on Friday authorized the purchase of the former Beta Theta Pi house where hazing led to the death of student Timothy Piazza in 2017.
The university will pay $7.3 million for the 0.92-acre property, located at 220 N. Burrowes Road, State College.
Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance, said Penn State sold the property in 1928 to Alpha Upsilon for the purposes of building and operating a fraternity.
The deed requires the sale of the property back to Penn State if it is no longer used as a fraternity, she said.
The death of Piazza, 19, in 2017 led to the fraternity’s charter being revoked that year. Penn State entered litigation in 2018 to compel a sale of the property to the university.
According to Penn State documents, the university’s appraisal put the property value at $5.45 million. Alpha Upsilon had two appraisals — valuing the property at $13.1 million in 2019 and $12.25 million last year. Settlement discussions led to the $7.3 million purchase price.
Penn State’s plans for the property have yet to be determined.
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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