“This is a good growth opportunity for an adjacent property owner with long term development goals,” he said.

Christy Mihos, a Turnpike board member who has been pushing for the sale of the land since 2001, said that CSX’s occupancy will likely not be a deterrent to institutional developers.

“There are zoning issues, existing easements, and the community will certainly have a lot to say about it,” he said of the challenges posed by the land. “But one man’s junk is another man’s riches.”

Possibilities and Pitfalls

Paul Berkeley, chair of the Allston Civic Association, said that even if Harvard or another buyer could facilitate the removal of CSX, an extensive renovation of the landscape would need to follow.

“There’s an incredible amount of contaminants in the ground there, so there would have to be a tremendous environmental cleanup,” he said.

Besides being a complicated undertaking, Berkeley added that developing the parcels might not be in the best interests of the community.

“These industrial sites have an important economic impact on the area,” he said. “If BU ended up there, what kind of jobs would they create?”

CSX spokesperson Robert Sullivan would not comment on the company’s future plans for its rail yards in Allston, but emphasized the importance of the site for its freight services.

“Its an important freight yard for us, for our customers in Boston and for the region,” he said. “Just the sheer number of trucks coming on and off the nearby Turnpike is a good indication of just how busy that yard is. This is a facility that we do not take lightly.”

One railroad customer in Allston said that his business depends on CSX in its current location.

“In general we’re uncomfortable with [the auctioning of the land],” said Bruce Houghton, president of Houghton Chemicals, which has a factory adjacent to the rail property. “We utilize the services of the railroad extensively.”

Houghton predicted a widespread impact across the area if the railroad were to leave.

“The key to all of this is not who owns it, but really what happens to that rail yard, and how does that affect the pricing of all goods, affect the competitiveness in industry,” Houghton said. “If there were no rail available it would substantially increase our costs, which I suppose we would pass onto our customers. If that happened to all the freight coming in, the cost of living in New England would increase to some extent.”

Berkeley said he worries that removing CSX’s lines would mean an influx of unwanted freight traffic on Allston’s roads and on the nearby Turnpike, some of which would carry hazardous materials formerly transported by rail.