Prime Location

University officials acknowledge that the existing buildings along South Street--from the corner with JFK Street to the corner with Dunster Street--could be demolished to make way for new construction if needs arise.

"Except for 17 South St., there's not any remarkability to any of the buildings," said David A. Zewinski, associate dean for physical resources and planning in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

Seventeen South St. has historical signifance as a former icehouse, Zewinski said. The building currently houses offices for Harvard Planning and Real Estate (HPRE), which is negotiating the lease with the Advocate. HPRE main offices are located in Holyoke Center.

The remaining buildings--with the exception of the Advocate House--contain FAS departments that will move to new locations within the next two years.

According to Zewinski, the Committee on Folklore and Mythology and Modern Greek Studies--both of which currently occupy 69 Dunster St.--will move to the new Barker Center for the Humanities when construction of the complex is completed this fall.

The Department of Linguistics and the Committee on the History of American Civilization--which are currently housed in 77 Dunster St.--are slated to move to Boylston Hall when renovations are complete by September 1998.

And the Department of Athletics, which currently occupies 60 JFK St., will move across the river upon completion of the new athletic complex.

But the buildings will remain standing for the immediate future and Harvard has "developed several varying plans" to fill them, Zewniski said.

"Right now, we're thinking that physical resources, which is currently in market-rate space, would go to 60 JFK [St.]," Zewinski said.

He added 69 and 77 Dunster St. will be used as "swing space" when renovation of Boylston begins this fall.

"The main objective is to eliminate FAS [departments] from spaces that we rent at market rates," he said.

FAS only pays operating and maintenance expenses--about $10 to $15 per square foot--on Harvard-owned property, compared to $25 per square foot on rented property, according to Zewinski.

Advocate Uncertainty

The University's reluctance to sign a long-term lease with the Advocate for 21 South St.--the property on which the literary magazine's two-story Advocate House sits--also suggests that Harvard may have long-range plans for the land.

Students at the Advocate said last month that the magazine's trustees were seeking a 50-year lease, but the agreement--which Epps said yesterday is almost complete--will likely be much shorter.