Construction of a Panhellenic Building was approved in February 1962 by the board of trustees. Ground was broken in March 1963, with April Gardner, president of the Panhellenic Council, and Dr. Frank Bowyer, UT trustee, turning over the first shovelfuls of dirt.
The 51,022-square-foot Panhellenic Building was occupied in fall 1964. It was built to provide suites for 19 sororities—the 14 existing sororities and 4 additional sororities that had indicated an interest in establishing chapters on campus. It also provided meeting and activity space for sorority functions. Only as space was available in the Panhellenic Building were additional sororities to be recognized by UT. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, and Zeta Beta Phi were affected by the prohibition against recognition of a sorority unless space was available in the Panhellenic Building. Room was made for Alpha Kappa Alpha to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act, and the prohibition was removed by the board of trustees at its meeting of September 16, 1976, in order to comply with Title IX.
The interior of the building follows the design of the Roman insula, with each of the suites being located around a large center court. The three upper floors, each with its own balcony overlooking the interior court, had six suites, with each suite having its own kitchenette and storage room. The suites were designed to accommodate chapter membership up to 50. The 15 sororities drew for spaces in the building according to the date their organization was chartered at UT, with four spaces available for new organizations. Each group had 1,440 square feet of space, which included a 28-foot by 40-foot activities room, a small office, storage space, and a fully equipped kitchen. The Panhellenic Building replaced the Phi Gamma Delta House, a building used by the Fine Arts Department, and two private residences. The architectural firm for the facility was Painter, Weeks, and McCarty, and the contractor was Emory and Richards. The Emory and Richards bid for construction of the facility was $594,673.
With the completion of individual sorority houses in Sorority Village at Morgan Hill, a $5.5 million renovation of the facility was made to house army and air force ROTC, the telephone bank of the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, and space for functions of the Student Life Division. Architect for the renovation was CH2M Hill.