Iowa State University is budgeting nearly $725 million for more than 200 building projects across campus, approximately $250 million more than past estimates.

The budget includes current construction projects, anticipated projects and projects that are on the brink of completion. Some of the projects date back to 2003, while some are new to the budget this year. The budget is an ongoing total of all construction projects the university is experiencing or foresees.

“This (number) is higher than normal, but some of these (projects) are very preliminary,” said Lynn Seiler, associate director of ISU’s facilities planning and management office. Usually, the projects total around “a half billion, but we have some pretty big projects.”

Though some projects remain anticipated, so do some of the funds needed to complete the projects. “Some of these are anticipated funds,” Seiler said. “We may not know exactly where the funds are going to come from, so we will put up a best estimate and then over time those will change as we receive more information.”

Seiler expressed some concern about the rising cost of raw materials such as steel and copper, and how it could affect some of the proposed projects. “We are concerned about inflation and the cost of these projects. It’s going up really fast,” he said. “We may have to scale back on some of them if the price gets too high.”

Current funds come from a variety of sources, such as private gifts, student fees, university funds and bonds.