And in a press release, Harvard's Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser said the new land will allow the University to begin moving forward with development proposals in Allston, such as relocating an entire graduate school to the area.

"This property enables the University to think more flexibly about its future and, when added to the land Harvard already owns in the area, should allow for a broad range of activities, much like the Cambridge campus," Zeckhauser said.

A Growing Presence

The bid comes on the heels of the University's 1997 announcement that it had had secretly purchased 52.6 acres of land in Allston over the course of nine years. Working through a Boston real estate developer, Harvard bought $88 million worth of land while hiding its identity to avoid being overcharged.

Allston residents and city officials loudly criticized the University at the time for its secrecy.

Paul Berkeley, president of the Allston Civic Association (ACA), said that Harvard has been much more open about its current purchase plans.

"They've been telling us about [their plans] all along," Berkeley said. "This was not a secret."

And with space in Cambridge increasingly limited, the purchase could not have come at a better time for the University.