Two of the plans call for Houses to be built from scratch, either on present-day athletic fields north of Harvard Stadium or in empty fields near Weeks Footbridge on the HBS campus.

But other plans show existing buildings incorporated into Houses. One proposal would convert the HBS dormitories north of Baker Library; another would transform the One Western Avenue building into undergraduate housing.

The report also considers turning the $66 million One Western Avenue complex, which opened in the summer of 2003 and currently houses about 350 graduate students, into a hotel and conference center. Another candidate for such a center is the 15-story Doubletree Guest Suites hotel near I-90, which Harvard purchased in January for a reported $75 million.

But whatever the eventual designs for Allston Houses, planners say that connections between the Allston and Cambridge campuses must be strengthened.

It now takes about 20 minutes to walk from Harvard Yard to Barry’s Corner, the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue, where science and graduate school facilities will be located in the future.

Cars and buses coming from Harvard Square must currently use the Larz Anderson Bridge to cross the Charles River, but the report looks closely at several proposals for making the crossing easier for pedestrians, bikers, cars, and rapid transit.

While two such plans would renovate the Larz Anderson Bridge and the Weeks Footbridge, others address the possibility of creating a new crossing. Building a bridge from Winthrop House’s two halls to the current HBS campus is one option. Another is extending the MBTA bus tunnel from Brattle Square to emerge near Harvard Stadium.

Although the report refers to shuttle buses running between the Cambridge and Allston campuses, Kathy Spiegelman, Harvard’s top planner, said that the mode of transit the College will use to transport students has not been decided.

GOOD NEIGHBORS?

But getting from Cambridge to Allston is only part of the challenge. Planners have also emphasized the need for improving transportation within the new campus—a concern that local residents share.

One of the Harvard report’s central recommendations is to remove the parallel parking on North Harvard Street, enlarging the road to accommodate separate bike and transit lanes.

“We’ve been advocating for a long time to remove parking on North Harvard Street,” says Paul Berkeley, the president of the Allston Civic Association, who says that suburban commuters park there and walk to Harvard Square to take the T downtown, leaving few spaces for Allston residents themselves.

The discussion over transportation is one example of the way in which residents see Harvard’s expansion as an opportunity to address some of their neighborhood’s problems and its distrust of Harvard.

Harvard’s concerted effort to expand its holdings in Allston dates back to at least 1988, when Harvard began a secret 52-acre, $88 million buying spree. When Harvard disclosed those purchases in 1997, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino called it “total arrogance.” Even a Harvard spokesman called it a “breach of trust.”

While residents remain wary, they have since become engaged in the planning process with Harvard.