The Sigma Chi house stands empty and broken windows dot the building.

The house at 729 E. Grand River Ave. has been empty of fraternity members since June.

The fraternity’s rental license was suspended June 15 after excessive damage to the house and several code and noise violations, said Annette Irwin, operations administrator for the Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation Department of East Lansing.

In an attempt to regain their house, Sigma Chi members have been meeting with several alumni to discuss alternatives to selling the building.

“In order for them to move back in and occupy the whole building, it will need to be brought up to code,” Irwin said. “They can of course have people in there working, but no one can live there.”

Irwin said there are holes in the walls, the kitchen needs cleaning, work needs to be done on the plumbing and electrical outlets are damaged.

James Denison, president of Gamma Psi Alumni of Sigma Chi, said some alumni members are considering selling the house. The alumni put about $150,000 worth of renovations into the house before the rental license was suspended because of the damages to the house and noise violations.

“Because of what has happened, they’re not moving back into that house anytime soon,” he said. “They’re going to have to build up their chapter and earn a new house.”

But, Denison said some alumni are considering other options.

“The only major question that remains is that fired-up alumni want to do what they can to stop us from selling the house,” he said.

Denison also said he would consider selling the house to another organization.

“If there was like an entity out there, like a sorority looking for a place for next year, we’d like to hear about it,” he said.

Biology junior Jeff Maxwell, president of Sigma Chi, said the fraternity takes responsibility for its actions leading to the suspension of their rental license.

“I feel that us losing the house was a combination of a lot of reasons,” he said. “The behavior of the undergraduates certainly played into account. However, lack of alumni involvement last year hurt us, too. The alumni now are really involved and really focused to returning the chapter to what it was.”

Sigma Chi vice president Chad Whistler confirmed he meets with “alumni who are currently seeking alternative solutions to selling the house” on a regular basis.

“I’m trying to make it very apparent to everyone that this will not happen on my watch,” the business senior said. “I will not let this house go down on my watch.”

Maxwell and Whistler both feel Sigma Chi will prosper as a fraternity and are optimistic of eventually regaining the house.

“We’re considering funds from alumni donations to essentially float the house for a period of time until we can make necessary repairs and establish a core group of guys to live in the house,” Whistler said. “Those two things right there are major issues.”

By “floating” the house, Whistler hopes to start making repairs and keep paying bills until members can move back in.

Whistler also expects to see a normal number of students interested in recruitment later this month.

“We are not expecting lower numbers and we know we will return to being one of the best fraternities on campus,” he said.