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Rendering of the Upsilon Psi Center from the site entry: a dark standing-seam gabled building with a long canopy and glazed hall at right, and the legacy kiosk with its LEGACY SERVING THE COMMUNITY signage wall at left.
Upsilon Psi Chapter  ·  Omega Psi Phi  ·  FAMU

The Upsilon Psi Center

A conceptual community facility on Magnolia Drive: a chapter home, a public event hall, a museum of the chapter’s own history, and a stage the neighborhood can use.

Location
609 E Magnolia Dr
Tallahassee, FL
Site
0.73 acres
Building
4,795 sf / 2 levels
Architect
Fitzgerald Collaborative
Issued
28 Oct 2024
Concept
4,795sf
Conditioned area
63–93
Seats in the hall
3
Flex rooms upstairs
41
Parking spaces at peak
0.73ac
Compiled site
1
Legacy kiosk & stage
A-000  /  The idea

A chapter house that works like a civic building.

Most chapter facilities are private by default and open up for an occasion. This concept inverts that. The public half of the ground floor sits closest to Magnolia Drive, opens through a canopy and a glass vestibule, and stays available to the neighborhood. The chapter’s own rooms sit behind it, deeper into the site.

The organizing move is a single long gabled volume, clad in dark standing-seam metal with cedar at the openings, set parallel to the street. Inside, it is zoned front to back: event hall, then museum, then service and lounge, then private rooms above. A glazed operable wall between the hall and the museum is the hinge. Closed, the museum is a quiet exhibit room while an event runs next door. Collapsed, the two rooms become one 93-seat hall.

Across the parking court, a second small structure carries the chapter’s story outward. The legacy kiosk is a shade canopy over a perforated metal panel wall, sized to work as a backdrop for a demountable stage. It reads from the street as signage: LEGACY SERVING THE COMMUNITY.

Why this site609 E Magnolia Drive. A compiled 0.73-acre parcel with mature trees along the west edge that the concept keeps, and a single curb cut off Magnolia.
Why two levelsThe ground floor stays public and barrier-free. Everything the chapter needs to keep private, including sleeping rooms, moves upstairs and out of the event flow.
Why flexible roomsThree upstairs rooms are drawn twice: once with beds, once with desks. The same room can host a visiting brother one weekend and a nonprofit tenant on Monday.
StatusConcept design, issued 28 October 2024. Areas, seat counts and parking are conceptual and subject to code review, survey and permitting.
A-200  /  Concept views

Dark metal, cedar, and a long porch facing the parking court.

The gable end turns toward the street corner. A continuous steel canopy runs the length of the west face, sheltering the walk from the parking court to the entry, and a second-floor balcony steps out under it.

Aerial rendering showing the long gabled building parallel to the parking court, with the canopy walk, second-floor balcony, and the separate legacy kiosk across the drive.
Aerial perspectiveBuilding, parking court and legacy kiosk. North at upper left.
Ground-level rendering from the site entry, with the legacy kiosk and its LEGACY SERVING THE COMMUNITY signage wall in the foreground and the building beyond.
Arrival from Magnolia DriveLegacy kiosk and stage backdrop at left.
Rendering of the long west elevation, showing the canopy, glazed event hall, cedar-clad entry bay and second-floor balcony.
West elevationCanopy walk, event hall glazing, balcony above the entry.
A-100  /  Site

Public at the street, private at the back.

Site plan diagram of 609 E Magnolia Drive showing the building, parking, legacy kiosk, tree line, property line, and a color-coded public to private zoning key.
Site plan0.73 acres. Entry from Magnolia Drive.
Zoning key
PublicEvent space and entry vestibule. Open to the community.
Semi-publicMuseum and exhibit casework. Opens to the hall or closes off.
PrivateLounge on Level 1, flex rooms and baths on Level 2.
Utility / egressKitchen, storage, restrooms, stair, lift, mechanical.
  • 10 standard spaces plus 1 accessible ADA van space
  • Up to 30 additional tandem spaces on sodded grounds for large events
  • Large trees along the west edge remain
  • Demountable stage sets up against the kiosk, facing the lawn
  • Entry signage wall at the main door, second sign wall at the kiosk
A-101 – A-102  /  Floor plans

Two floors, two ways each.

Both levels are drawn with an alternate furniture layout. Switch between them below to see how the same walls hold a different night.

Level 1

2,867 sf  ·  public, museum, kitchen, lounge
Level 1 floor plan showing entry vestibule, 63-seat event space, museum with artifact casework, kitchen, storage, four restrooms, lounge with pool table, stair and mechanical lift.
Level 1, as drawnMuseum closed off from the hall by the operable glazed wall.
PublicEntry vestibule and event space63 seats at rounds, 93 with the wall open
PublicAward, greeting and serving counterBetween the hall and the kitchen
SemiMuseumArtifact exhibit casework, exhibit wall, media support
SemiOperable glazed wall with doorsThe hinge between museum and hall
ServiceKitchen and storage room
ServiceFour restrooms, janitor, mechanical
PrivateLoungeMedia wall and pool table, at the far end from the entry
AccessStair and mechanical liftLift entry under the canopy, both levels reachable

Level 2

1,928 sf  ·  flex rooms, baths, study balcony
Level 2 floor plan with three flex rooms furnished as bedrooms, two bathrooms with shower benches, laundry room, casework storage, study balcony and outdoor balcony.
Level 2, bedroom layoutThree sleeping rooms, two baths, laundry, study balcony.
FlexThree flex roomsDrawn both ways: beds, or desk plus small conference table
PrivateTwo bathroomsShowers with benches
ServiceLaundry room with stacked washers and dryers
ServiceAdditional casework storage along the corridor
SharedStudy balconyOverlooks the double-height hall below
SharedOutdoor balconyOver the canopy, facing the parking court
AccessStair and mechanical lift exit
A-300  /  How it earns its keep

Four uses in one building.

Chapter

Meetings and ceremony

A hall sized for the full chapter and its guests, with a serving counter, a kitchen behind it, and a lounge at the quiet end of the floor.

Community

Rentals and programs

The public zone has its own entry, its own restrooms and its own canopy, so the hall can be used without opening the rest of the building.

Legacy

Museum and archive

Purpose-built exhibit casework and an exhibit wall give the chapter’s artifacts a permanent home instead of a storage closet.

Hospitality

Rooms upstairs

Three rooms with two full baths and a laundry. Beds for visiting brothers and homecoming weekends, desks the rest of the year.

Upsilon Psi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (FAMU)
Conceptual Community Facility, 609 E Magnolia Drive, Tallahassee, Florida
Design and drawings by Fitzgerald Collaborative, issued 28 October 2024.
Areas, seat counts and parking counts shown here are conceptual and subject to survey, code review and permitting.