Forte completes SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology’s $188m Brown Academic Bldg.
Manhattan, NY Forte Construction Corp. worked with the Dormitory Authority for The State of New York (DASNY) to complete the building of the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building at the State of New York (SUNY) Fashion Institute of Technology in Chelsea.
The construction firm worked as the general contractor from planning to completion of the $188.5 million, 10-story, 100,000 s/f building located at 220 West 28th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. The new building also connects to the existing Feldman Center on the college’s urban campus and includes a sunlight filled atrium between the two buildings.
Designed by the SHoP Architects, the academic building features 26 energy efficient classrooms, exhibition spaces and studios, a lounge, presentation hall, administrative offices, and a full-floor, 20-ft.-high common area accessible to students through an express escalator. The project also included building the largest campus knitting and weaving lab in the U.S. The exterior of the building features a glass façade and is projected to attain LEED Gold certification.
The building has a total of 39 solar panels, capable of producing 21,222 kilowatt hours of energy per year, while efficient plumbing fixtures decrease water consumption by over 35%.
New York State provided over $94 million in capital appropriations for the completion of the project. This is the first new academic building at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s campus in nearly 50 years. Offering some 50 majors, the college has 9,000 students, both graduate and undergraduate, with a 1.5 city block urban campus.
Forte Construction is a leading general contracting firm with approximately 500 professionals dedicated to delivering complex construction solutions for major public and government agencies, including the MTA, NYC SCA, DASNY, and NYCHA. The firm has a strong focus on transit accessibility and ADA compliance, with a proven track record of completing billions of dollars in MTA construction and modernization contracts.