BATON ROUGE - A fraternity that is temporarily banned from operating on LSU's campus over hazing allegations is planning to move into a spacious home located just minutes from the university, flagrantly disregarding warnings from the school.

LSU suspended Phi Kappa Psi in 2020 after the school investigated multiple reported instances of hazing at the fraternity. Some of the allegations involved a student who was hospitalized with alcohol poisoning and a reported suicide that happened in the days after that incident.

Despite Phi Kappa Psi's suspension staying in effect through at least May 2025, the fraternity is now reportedly renting the property near the corner of Highland Road and Lee Drive, with the intent of housing its members there. 

Neighbors around the area are concerned with how this will impact small businesses in the area, even though they understand that the property owner needs to make money. 

"It's very difficult to tell an owner of a property what you can do with that property and he needs to be able to make money but on another end we really like Basel's Market and this is going to drive them out of business," Michael Huye, who lives in the neighborhood told WBRZ. 

In a March 2022 letter addressed to the leader of Phi Kappa Psi's national organization—based in Indiana—LSU officials said they were "unequivocally opposed" to the fraternity opening an unrecognized chapter off campus and warned that any activities on or off school grounds would likely extend the fraternity's ban. 

On Wednesday, LSU's Interfraternity Council released a statement condemning the "rogue" chapter and encouraging other Greek organizations to avoid Phi Kappa Psi.

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Huye worries if the fraternity can't respect LSU's wishes, he questions if they will respect the house and the neighbors nearby. 

"The fact that they were removed from campus, were told not to reconstitute as a fraternity, and now they are putting a finger in LSU's eye. That doesn't really sit well with me," Huye said. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, a banner hanging outside the house proclaims it's the "Future home of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity."

Read the fraternity's statement below:

The Phi Kappa Psi National Fraternity conducted two separate investigations by non-LSU alumni regarding the incident and implemented sanctions including the removal of the offending members and the appointment of an alumni oversight committee to monitor chapter operations moving forward.

The chapter remains recognized by the National Fraternity and is subject to the national organization’s health and safety standards and policies, as well as the laws governing all private membership-based organizations in Louisiana.