An extra $7.1 million was approved Friday toward the construction of the new Union South, bringing the total cost of the project to $94.8 million.
Associate Director of Wisconsin Union Hank Walter said the Union Council, which oversees the project, was faced with the choice of scaling back the Union South project or increasing the budget with funding from other sources.
The project is a part of a referendum passed in 2006 that increased student segregated fees by $96 a semester to pay for a new Union South and the renovation of Memorial Union.
“Do you stay at the same budget and not fulfill the commitments that were made in the referendum campaign? Obviously, the choice the council made was to fulfill the commitments,” Walter said. “At a minimum, we need to do what is promised in … the referendum itself.”
Walter said about $4 million of the increased funding will come from sources like the Visitor Information Center and campus parking, which account for part of the increased cost.
The other $3.1 million will come from funds previously allocated to the renovation of Memorial Union.
Walter noted that part of the reallocation of funding was due to bigger priorities with Union South. He also said as the Union South component is already underway, there is more room to raise further funds on the Memorial Union side.
Wisconsin Union Vice President for Project Management Dan Cornelius said the increased cost is not ideal, but a commitment to honor what students agreed to in the original referendum is the priority.
“We wish that we could build more buildings for less money. No one is happy about it,” Cornelius said. “We want to meet a new south campus union that will meet the needs of the campus now and in the future. We felt that this was the best decision to make moving forward.”
The increased funding was approved during the Board of Regents meeting, where the construction of the new Union South was also given the final go-ahead.
The new Union South is expected to be complete in 2011. Students will pay $96 a semester in segregated fees until 2040 to help fund the building.
