When Lawrence H. Summers became president of the University last summer, he left behind a career in shaping economic policy and issuing our nation’s currency.

But as the University begins to develop its 271 acres of land across the river in Allston, Summers now faces the familiar task of determining the cost of this venture and figuring out where this money will come from.

The development of an entirely new campus built on a mix of railroad yards and preexisting roads and commercial buildings will cost the University billions of dollars—money that will come from a mix of donors, individual schools and the central administration.

“This will definitely be a multi-billion dollar venture by the time it’s done,” says David Dixon, principal consultant for Goody, Clancy and Associates, the firm working with Harvard to plan the development of its Allston campus.

Because the planning of Allston is just beginning, planners and University officials say it is difficult to speculate on the costs.

And until that number becomes clearer, finding sources for the required money presents a significant challenge.

“This is sort of like a freshman thinking about the first house they’ll live in. They’re not thinking about how much they’re going to spend on it quite yet,” says Vice President for Finance Elizabeth C. “Beppie” Huidekoper.

Cost estimates will largely depend on which facilities and school—or schools—end up moving to Allston, Huidekoper says.

“Imagine building a hospital versus a hotel,” she says.

“There’s hugely different costs,” she adds, “different health and safety requirements that we won’t know until we know what we want to [move].”

Pieces of the Pie

University administrators and urban planners say that many factors contribute to the cost of creating an entire campus from scratch—which is exactly what Harvard intends to do.

Creating a campus, Dixon says, involves a lot more than constructing a few new buildings.

He explains that the University will have to build new streets and that the city will have to increase access to mass transit in the Allston area.

These street and transportation costs could total more than $10 million, Dixon says.