Harvard University

Harvard University’s vision to transform the northern section of Allston into a thriving, revitalized area with academic space, student housing, and entertainment facilities is one step closer to realization after a developer filed a proposal to build a 350,000 square-foot mixed use project in the Barry’s Corner section.

The developer, Samuels & Associates, hopes to start construction in fall 2013 and finish the project in about two years, according to a copy of the 452-page plan.

The university’s plan to relocate its campus services building—which houses mailing, information technology, police training , recycling, storage, and transporation fleet management departments—to 219 Western Ave. in Allston was approved by the city at a Boston Redevelopment Authority board meeting on March 14.

In October, Harvard unveiled a 10-year master plan framework for the Boston neighborhood. That long-term plan features nine new projects, including a new basketball arena, a refurbished football stadium, a hotel and conference center, and new business school buildings.

Harvard began pushing for an expansion in Allston in the late 1980s, and it now owns 359 acres in Allston, nearly double the size of its Cambridge campus.