The Delta Upsilon fraternity vacated the house in 1969, after expropriation by the University of Alberta in 1968. The Board of Governors of the University of Alberta agreed to lease the house to the Alberta government for forty years in late 1970 following an agreement with Minister of Public Works Albert W. Ludwig, following a successful campaign for preservation as an historic site by the University of Alberta Women's Club, including the assistance of the Women's Canadian Club, the Northern Alberta Pioneers and Old Timers Association, the Historical Society of Alberta, the Edmonton Historical Board, Provincial Museum and the City of Edmonton.