Marylou Batt, Lesley’s vice president for administration, also said the university plans to improve its facilities for undergraduates by creating a student center and renovating its outdated library, classrooms and science laboratories.

She said Lesley officials would consider increasing the college from its current size of about 500 students and possibly making the school co-educational.

Although Lesley’s graduate programs take place at sites across the country, Batt said the heart of their undergraduate college belongs here, where it has been for almost a century.

“We really wanted an urban neighborhood environment, and that’s what Cambridge offers,” she said.

Lesley officials told residents last night that they are leaning toward a plan that would divide their facilities to create two “living and learning campuses” in their two areas of land holdings in Cambridge.

The AIB would be moved to Porter Square, while the land in the Agassiz neighborhood would become an enhanced campus for the undergraduate college.

This would allow the AIB to leave its current two buildings next to Boston University and create a new center for arts in Cambridge.

“The issue of creating a vibrant art community is a pretty exciting one,” Batt said.

Another option on the table would put all academic functions in Porter Square and use the Agassiz area for residential buildings.

But Batt said Lesley officials were leaning toward the two mixed-use areas, and several residents said last night they liked the idea.

Community members did raise concerns about putting more pressure on the already crowded Cambridge housing market and expanding even further into a neighborhood surrounded by institutional buildings.

“We don’t have that kind of space in that area anymore,” said State Rep. Alice K. Wolf, D-Cambridge.

Karoff emphasized to residents that Lesley was still at a very early stage of the planning process, and wanted to include the public at all points.

“We want for that input to occur both before, during and after we actually generate some specific design proposals,” Karoff said.

While Lesley officials said they were looking to make more efficient use of their existing property, their plans also hinge on whether they can expand their campus by acquiring air rights above the Porter Square commuter rail station.