After several years of disuse, Butler announced that it would convert Ross Hall into a boutique hotel in August 2024. The hotel was supposed to open its doors during the 2026-2027 academic year, after planning to break ground for construction in spring 2025. By late September 2026, there has been no move to start the project.
The hotel was intended to be developed as part of the Hilton Curio Collection, after talks of building a boutique hotel on campus started in 2022, and is part of the larger Gateway Project. Part of the construction of the hotel is intended to use neighboring fraternity Sigma Chi’s land, of which Butler already leases the parking lot and part of the basketball court next to Ross.
However, Sigma Chi has no current plans to sell the land to Butler.
In an email to The Butler Collegian, Gannon Smith, a junior finance and accounting double major and current Sigma Chi president, confirmed this intent and provided a statement about ownership of the land.
“According to our housing corporation, we have enjoyed a solid working relationship with Butler University since 1865 and that relationship remains strong,” Smith stated. “Our property is owned and managed by our local alumni board, and I cannot speak on their behalf.”
Butler’s director of strategic communication Mark Apple shared a statement with The Butler Collegian over email regarding progress on the hotel.
“As Butler completes the scope of its broader campus master planning work, the Ross Hall project remains an important element of the campus master plan and a priority within the Boldly Butler strategy to elevate campus as a destination,” Apple stated. “We don’t have an updated construction timeline to share at this time. As the planning process continues and additional details are finalized, we’ll share more information about the future of the site.”
Lauren Takeda, a senior political science and peace and conflict studies double major, lives in a house behind Ross Hall. She expressed distaste surrounding the future construction of a hotel and noted that the hall in its current state is still inconveniencing students.
“I would say it is disappointing that the university would prioritize a hotel over other practical university developments — like more parking lots [or] Jordan Hall renovations,” Takeda said. “Since nothing is being done to the building right now, it is a nuisance to live behind Ross, as there is chronic beeping coming from what I assume is dead smoke detectors. It is loud enough to be heard from the back of my senior house.”
Katherine Wymer, a senior middle/secondary education and English double major, also lives in a house behind Ross Hall. She lived in Fairview House when construction on the new president’s house was being completed, and is glad it is not a repeat experience.
“[During] my sophomore year, the active construction consistently disrupted my sleep and made it difficult to study and relax in my living space,” Wymer said. “One of my roommates is student teaching currently, and I will be student teaching in the spring, so it is more important to us now than ever that our living space is peaceful and not filled with the inconveniences of construction.”
There are no current updates as to when construction may start on the hotel project.
At the time of publishing, Brooke Thomas, brand leader of the Curio Collection by Hilton and whom Butler previously had interviewed about the hotel, could not be reached for comment.