FIT opens Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, its first in nearly 50 years

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), part of the State University of New York system, has officially opened the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, its first new academic structure in almost five decades. The ten-story, 100,000-square-foot building, located on West 28th Street in Manhattan’s fashion district, is named in honor of FIT’s longtime president Joyce F. Brown, whose 27-year tenure has been credited with transforming the institution.

Designed by SHoP Architects, the building aims to serve as a hub where fashion, design, business, and technology intersect. It features 26 classrooms and studios, administrative offices, a knitting lab described as the largest on a U.S. campus, and a full-floor student commons beneath a 20-foot ceiling. Its glass façade is intended to connect campus activity with the surrounding neighborhood, and the project is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification for sustainability.

At the opening ceremony, Brown called the building “a symbol of opportunity to transform lives,” while SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. described FIT as a “gem within the SUNY system.” Governor Kathy Hochul said the expansion reinforces New York’s position at “the crossroads of creativity, innovation, and opportunity,” and Mayor Eric Adams praised it as a contribution to the city’s global fashion leadership.

The building’s development was supported by funding from New York State, New York City, and private donors. FIT Board Chair Robin Burns-McNeill said the naming represents a lasting tribute to Brown’s leadership and vision.

With roughly 9,000 students enrolled across more than 50 degree programs, FIT said the new facility will strengthen collaboration and innovation across disciplines. As students and faculty begin using the space, the building stands as both a symbol of the college’s growth and a new chapter in its presence at the heart of New York’s fashion industry.