Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the historic opening of the State University of New York (SUNY) Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT) new $188.5 million Joyce F. Brown Academic Building. FIT is part of SUNY and a global leader in creative education. The new building is located on West 28th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, and will be a destination to advance creativity, innovation, and opportunity while also providing students with the resources to excel in art and design, fashion, business, and technology.
“FIT’s new Joyce F. Brown Academic Building cements its place at the crossroads of creativity, innovation, and opportunity,” Governor Hochul said. “There’s no more fitting place for this milestone than the fashion capital of the world — New York City — where top-tier talent and the global fashion industry merge to set trends, spark ideas, and build the future. This space will inspire the next generation of designers, artists, and entrepreneurs shaping what’s next in fashion and design.”
The building features include 26 energy-efficient classrooms and studios, administrative offices as well as the largest campus knitting and weaving lab in the U.S. The space also houses FIT’s first interior space designed specifically for connection outside the classroom – a full-floor, double-height, 20-foot-high student commons, accessible via an express escalator. Notably, FIT’s commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected in the design and construction of the building, which is projected to attain LEED Gold certification. New York State supported this project with over $94 million in capital appropriations and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) managed the project from design through substantial completion in August 2025…