Seven fraternity houses.¹
Tax-exempt as educational.¹

Cornell owns all seven. Nearby, houses the fraternities own themselves are taxed in full.¹

Assessed at $9.8 million. Taxable value for city, county, and school taxes: zero.¹$9.8 million, taxable value zero¹

Cornell owns all seven. Nearby, houses the fraternities own themselves are taxed in full. The county assesses the seven at $9.8 million; their taxable value is zero.

ithacashare.org/fraternity-houses

One option: Cornell pays what the seven houses would owe if taxed, about $320,000 a year, to the city, county, and school district, without waiting for the county’s review.¹⁰

Write to Cornell County review directed October 6, 2026.⁴ City permit moratorium runs through November 5, 2026.⁶

The seven, on the county’s roll

Cornell-owned fraternity houses in the City of Ithaca: address and assessed value, each with a taxable value of zero
Address	Assessed	Taxable
6 South Ave	$1,780,000	$0
13 South Ave	$1,570,000	$0
118 McGraw Pl	$1,570,000	$0
122 McGraw Pl	$1,550,000	$0
107 Edgemoor Ln	$1,540,000	$0
600 University Ave	$1,180,000	$0
124 Triphammer Rd	$610,000	$0

$970,000 is the taxable value of 17 South Ave, a fraternity house on the same street, owned by its own fraternity.¹

In their words

“Does not necessarily mean such properties are automatically exempt”
The County Attorney, on university ownership, to the County Legislature. He cited an earlier court decision involving Cornell and offered arguments for both taxation and continued exemption. The review changes nothing while it runs; county assessment officials say the houses have been exempt for decades.^4,5
“Your room will be assigned to you by the Fraternity Residence officer”
Cornell’s housing license for its fraternity residences, 2024–25. The license ends if a resident is “suspended or expelled from sorority/fraternity membership by either the local chapter or national organization.”¹⁹

In court

“Private fraternity houses, the same as fraternity houses owned by the respective fraternities”
A New York court in 1945, holding two Cornell-owned houses on campus taxable. Each chapter chose who lived there.¹³
“A privately organized, self-perpetuating club”
The Appellate Division in 1965, affirming that Cornell-owned houses leased to fraternities were taxable.¹⁴
“The right to assign nonmembers to live in the fraternity houses”
The Appellate Division in 1978, holding the University of Rochester’s nine houses exempt. It called the question “one of usage” and found the houses “indistinguishable” in function from dormitories.¹⁵

Questions

Aren’t they basically dorms?: The courts have asked who controls a house and how it is used. Cornell lost in 1945 and 1965, when the chapters chose the occupants.^13,14 The University of Rochester won in 1978, when it could assign any student and ran the houses like its other halls.¹⁵ Cornell’s current license has the chapter’s officer assign rooms and ends if the chapter expels the resident; when a room opens, the remaining occupants may “select a replacement,” and the University and the officer “reserve the right” to fill it.¹⁹ Cornell has run some of these seven as residence halls while a chapter was suspended, and returned them when the chapter came back.^16,17,18
Why about $320,000?: The seven houses’ assessed value, $9.8 million, at the 2026 city and county rates and the school district’s 2026–27 rate.^7,8,9,10 Cornell already pays the city $4 million a year under a 2023 agreement; the wastewater page covers that.¹¹

Method

The seven are every address on Cornell’s chapter list that the county’s 2026 final roll shows as owned by Cornell, classed Inn/lodge, and exempt as educational.^1,3 Values are the county’s assessed values, the same on the 2025 and 2026 rolls; the 2026 roll assesses at 95% of full value, so full value is about $10.3 million.^1,2 A news count of eight houses and $12.85 million matches the roll if it includes 1 Forest Park Lane, which Cornell lists as a residence hall, and 14 South Avenue, neither on Cornell’s chapter list, and leaves out 124 Triphammer Road.^5,12 Legislators discussed whether the assessments reflect the properties’ values.⁴ No individuals named. Every source has an archived copy.

Sources

Wholly exempt section, owner “Cornell University,” class “418 Inn/lodge,” exemption “Education 25120,” county, city, and school taxable value 0: 6 South Ave, parcel 31.-1-11, assessed 1,780,000 (p. 1054); 13 South Ave, 31.-1-10, 1,570,000 (p. 1054); 118 McGraw Pl, 29.-3-2, 1,570,000 (p. 1050); 122 McGraw Pl, 29.-3-1, 1,550,000 (p. 1050); 107 Edgemoor Ln, 31.-1-8, 1,540,000 (p. 1054); 600 University Ave, 29.-4-6, 1,180,000 (p. 1051); 124 Triphammer Rd, 9.-4-5, 610,000 (p. 1037). Taxable section, class “418 Inn/lodge,” no exemption: 17 South Ave, 31.-1-5, owner “Alpha Theta Fraternity,” county, city, and school taxable value 970,000 (p. 163); 119-25 Edgemoor Ln, 31.-1-9, owner “Iswza Fraternity Inc,” taxable 1,210,000 (p. 163); 730 University Ave, 29.-3-5, owner “Sigma Pi Mu Chapter,” taxable 1,330,000, and 810 University Ave, 29.-3-3, owner “Chi Psi,” taxable 1,650,000 (p. 160). “UNIFORM PERCENT OF VALUE IS 095.00.”
Tompkins County, 2026 Final Assessment Roll, City of Ithaca (PDF) · archived
Same seven parcels, same assessed values, taxable value 0; “UNIFORM PERCENT OF VALUE IS 100.00.” Pages 1037, 1048 to 1050, 1052, and 1053.
Tompkins County, 2025 Final Assessment Roll, City of Ithaca (PDF) · archived
Chapter addresses: Chi Phi, “107 Edgemoor Ln. (University Owned)”; Delta Kappa Epsilon, “13 South Ave”; Delta Upsilon, “6 South Ave”; Kappa Sigma, “600 University Ave”; Phi Gamma Delta, “118 McGraw Pl”; Sigma Alpha Epsilon, “122 McGraw Pl”; Pi Delta Psi, “124 Triphammer Rd”; Pi Kappa Alpha, “17 South Ave.” Neither 1 Forest Park Lane nor 14 South Avenue appears.
Cornell Sorority and Fraternity Life, Organization Scorecard · archived
“The legislature unanimously directed County Attorney” to “examine whether Cornell University-owned fraternity and other Greek-letter organization properties should qualify for property tax exemptions.” The County Attorney “explained that university ownership does not necessarily mean such properties are automatically exempt.” “He referenced an earlier court decision involving Cornell and said his office could review the relevant law and provide arguments both for taxation and continued exemption.” “Legislators also discussed whether assessments accurately reflect property values.” “The action authorizes a legal review; it does not immediately change the tax status of any property.”
Tompkins County Legislature, highlights of the October 6, 2026 meeting · archived
“A review of Tompkins County assessment records identified eight Cornell-owned fraternity properties with a combined estimated market value of more than $12.8 million.” The Chi Phi house at 107 Edgemoor Lane, “where a woman … alleges she was sexually assaulted by multiple men in 2024”; “The Chi Phi chapter is now considered dormant, but Cornell University remains the listed owner of the property.” “The exemptions are classified as educational under county assessment records.” “County assessment officials have indicated that Cornell-owned Greek housing has received exemptions for decades, following earlier litigation involving the university and the City of Ithaca.” “For now, the properties remain exempt as county officials examine whether that should change.”
CNY Central, October 20, 2026 · archived
The city “will temporarily halt the issuance of new permits for certain events and activities regulated under City Code, including special events, assemblies and parades, Commons permits, and noise permits for Cornell University and affiliated fraternities, sororities, and student organizations.” Posted October 8, 2026; it “takes effect immediately and remains in place through November 5, 2026, unless extended or modified by further action of Common Council.”
City of Ithaca, October 8, 2026 · archived
“The tax rate for general purposes, for the fiscal year 2026, be, and the same hereby is, established and fixed at $12.24 per $1,000 of taxable valuation as shown, certified and extended against the respective properties on the 2025 Tax Roll.”
City of Ithaca, Resolution: Adoption of 2026 Tax Rate (PDF) · archived
“The proposed County property tax rate is $5.44 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value, compared with $4.90 in 2026.”
Tompkins County, county budget and financial information · archived
“For the 2026-2027 Ithaca City School District tax year, the following equalization and tax rates are in effect: … Tompkins County (City of Ithaca) 95% 15.527073,” “Per $1000 of Taxable Assessment.”
Ithaca City School District, School Taxes · archived
Calculation. Assessed value of the seven: 1,780,000 + 1,570,000 + 1,570,000 + 1,550,000 + 1,540,000 + 1,180,000 + 610,000 = $9,800,000 (sources 1 and 2). City: 9,800 × $12.24 = $119,952 (source 7). County: 9,800 × $4.90 = $48,020 (source 8). School: 9,800 × $15.527073 = $152,165 (source 9). Total $320,137, rounded to $320,000. Full value on the 2026 roll: $9,800,000 ÷ 0.95 ≈ $10.3 million. The news count’s eight: the seven less 124 Triphammer Rd, plus 1 Forest Park Ln (1,450,000) and 14 South Ave (1,570,000), assessed $12,210,000, or $12.85 million at full value (sources 1 and 5).
$4 million a year to the City of Ithaca, adjusted for inflation, through June 2039.
Cornell Chronicle, October 13, 2023 · archived
Listed under “Residence Halls” for transfer and upper-level undergraduates: “1 Forest Park Lane is located at the base of Libe Slope, close to the West Campus House System and convenient to Central Campus.”
Cornell Residential Life, 1 Forest Park Lane · archived
Two houses on campus, Psi Upsilon and Sigma Phi, built with the fraternities’ money and deeded to Cornell. “The university’s representative assigns dormitory rooms. In these buildings each chapter makes the assignment.” “We hold that these buildings are, and are used as private fraternity houses, the same as fraternity houses owned by the respective fraternities, either on or off the campus, which are not exempt.”
People ex rel. Cornell University v. Thorne, 184 Misc. 630 (Sup. Ct. 1945) · archived
Cornell-owned houses under its Group Housing Plan, leased to fraternities. “Each lessee group elects the members thereof and they, of course, become those who shall occupy the house.” The University could fill vacancies with other students, “but, in practice, no such assignment has ever been made.” The premises were “devoted, in substantial part, to the social and other personal objectives of a privately organized, self-perpetuating club, controlled by graduate as well as student members.” Judgment affirmed.
Cornell University v. Board of Assessors, 24 A.D.2d 526 (3d Dept. 1965) · archived
Nine fraternity houses owned by the University of Rochester on its campus. “The issue is not one of control, although that is a factor to be considered; rather, the issue is one of usage.” “In many respects, the function and operation of the fraternity houses is indistinguishable from that of the tax-exempt dormitory facilities.” “The University has always reserved the right to assign nonmembers to live in the fraternity houses and has done so on occasions where the houses were not full.” All nine held exempt.
University of Rochester v. Wagner, 63 A.D.2d 341 (4th Dept. 1978) · archived
The former Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, “now officially referred to as 122 McGraw Place, the newest undergraduate residential” hall, housed 29 residents, most of them “juniors and seniors who were given offers to live in the house after last year’s housing lottery,” under “an agreement with SAE’s alumni association to use the building as a residence hall for five years.”
The Cornell Daily Sun, September 6, 2011 · archived
“The fraternity house, a property on 600 University Ave., is owned by Cornell and was renovated and turned into student housing by the University for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years.” “It was agreed that if Kappa Sigma were ever reinstated on campus, fraternity members could occupy the building again.”
The Cornell Daily Sun, October 10, 2012 · archived
122 and 118 McGraw Place “were also residence halls until this fall, when they reverted back into fraternity houses”: Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which “returned to Cornell last year after a decade-long suspension,” and Phi Gamma Delta, from which “the University withdrew recognition for two years, starting in 2020.”
The Cornell Daily Sun, October 4, 2023 · archived
“Your room will be assigned to you by the Fraternity Residence officer, and you agree to occupy the room assigned.” The license may be terminated if “You are suspended or expelled from sorority/fraternity membership by either the local chapter or national organization.” “When vacancies occur, the University and the Fraternity Residence officer reserve the right to show rooms and assign new occupants to fill the vacancies. With the permission of SFL and the Fraternity Residence officer, any remaining occupants may be granted one of the following options: Select a replacement to fill the vacancy.” The live page now requires a Cornell login; the archived copy is from June 2025.
Cornell Residential Life, Sorority/Fraternity Residence Terms and Conditions 2024–2025 · archived

Seven fraternity houses.1 Tax-exempt as educational.1