Plans to renovate the HUB have been in the works for four years.

On Friday, the Services and Activities Fee (SAF) Committee will decide whether to approve funding for the HUB, Hall Health and Ethnic Cultural Center renovations in its proposed budget. The approval of the funding would mean students pay an additional $85 in student fees per quarter. The fee would remain in place for 30 years.

If the seven members of the SAF Committee vote to approve the projects, the Board of Regents will conduct a review and determine final approval in June.

The three renovation projects were combined into the same bond to save money by paying only one set of administrative fees for the three projects.

“All three [projects] serve the campus community and increase student space, so it made sense to group them together,” said Lincoln Johnson, director of Student Activities and Union Facilities.

The cost of the project was originally projected to be approximately $140 million, but the economic recession has lowered the anticipated cost to $125 million. A vote to approve the project now will take advantage of current market rates, while a vote to reject the project could mean paying more in the future.

Johnson said restarting the project in the future could result in a more expensive project once the economy recovers. Also, the university would not be able to benefit from the estimated $4 million already spent during the planning phase.

The magnitude of the HUB renovation compared to the Hall Health and ECC renovations has drawn concern from some students about paying for renovations they will never use. If approved, the renovations would begin in fall 2010, closing the HUB for 27 months.

“The students who started doing these discussions in the 1940s were not able to be the ones to take advantage of the student union building when it was built originally or while it was being renovated and expanded,” Johnson said. “The same thing took place for the students who contributed to the IMA expansion and the ECC. All of the footwork and all of the input for [those projects] was done prior to their construction and completion. They had a hand in laying out a part of this university.”

Last Thursday, the SAF Committee received confirmation from UW Provost and Executive Vice President Phyllis Wise that the university will contribute $20 million from central funds to the bond for the renovation projects. The $20 million contribution will be spread over the life of the bond.

SAF Committee Chair Matt York said that had the university not dedicated the funds, students would pay an additional $15 to $25 per quarter to cover the difference.

If the projects are approved, incoming freshmen would pay approximately $1,020 over four years.

York said the widespread participation and feedback from student groups has created excitement about the improvements that will be made to the HUB.

“Students will use [the HUB],” York said. “The HUB will be built around student input from practically every student group on campus.”

The SAF Committee requires a two-year process for planning and discussions. This rule ensures that feedback on large projects come from more than one committee. The proposed projects have already gone through this two-year feedback phase.

“The idea [of the two-year rule] is to not have just one committee making decisions about a project whose legacy will span for 50 or more years,” Johnson said.

The HUB, Hall Health and ECC were built to serve the campus population during the time of their respective construction, but the growth of the UW student body has increased the pressure to renovate the facilities. Johnson said he is concerned about losing momentum if the committee votes to reject the renovation projects.

“We’ve been talking about this for four years,” Johnson said. “That’s a lot of involvement from a lot of people and from a lot of groups. If we delayed the renovations for a year, we would have to regroup, and we would have to bring new people back to the table.”

Reach reporter Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.