Harvard representatives, however, said they are hopeful that approval will be granted to a project that they see as beneficial to the University and Cambridge.

"After three years of extremely constructive community discussion, I think it would be a failure for the neighborhood and Harvard if the project were not to go forward," said Mary Power, Harvard's director of community relations for Cambridge.

Power said the very nature of the planning made the project worthwhile.

"We've been advocating for this type of process that is very connected to community dialogue. If we were to arrive at agreement, this could become a model that we can use for future projects," Power said.

A Real Need?

A center for the social sciences has long been one of Harvard's priorities. And the proposed center is lauded on a Harvard website as a space of "academic vitality" for "formal and informal interactions among faculty."

But last night, three residents of the area who are affiliated with the Davis Center for Russian Studies--which will move into Knafel--questioned the building's value.

"I don't know any scholar in the [Davis Center] who wants to see this happen," said one affiliate.

Another expressed his doubt that the center could achieve the University's mission.

"It's an illusion to assume that just because there are more lounges in the Knafel Center, the interaction is actually going to increase," he said.