The Fashion Institute of Technology received $74 million from the New York City mayor to construct a new state-of-the art academic building.

In May, Mayor Bill de Blasio presented the Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2016, which included a multi-million commitment to FIT. The funds will be used to construct a building that will help the school enhance its offerings in design and business.

"Words cannot describe how delighted and grateful we are as we make this announcement today. We thank Mayor de Blasio for his commitment to public higher education and the creative industries of New York," FIT's President Dr. Joyce F. Brown said in a statement. "This will be the first new academic building constructed on our campus in over 40 years, and it will help us to continue our efforts to increase program offerings, expand recruitment of a diverse student population, and enhance the overall student experience here at FIT."

The new academic building, with 10 stories and almost 100,000 square feet, will be built within the footprint of the existing campus, and open on to West 28th Street. The LEED silver-certified structure will incorporate state-of-the-art building management systems, a green roof, and a solar grid to power the building.

The facility will include both academic and student-life spaces, including smart classrooms, studios, laboratories, and display and exhibition spaces. The new building, which has not kept pace with the FIT's tremendous growth over the past 30 years, as the full-time student population and the number of degree programs have doubled, will help alleviate the college's 400,000-square-foot space shortfall and provide a much-needed new teaching and learning environment.

"FIT is unique because it is located directly in the heart of the industries it serves. Yet the current structures that comprise the campus miss the opportunity to express the dynamic interaction between the academy and the professional world. We see this project as a unique opportunity to reconnect and reevaluate these relationships," said SHoP partner Gregg Pasquarelli, who helped design the new building.

De Blasio's allocated funds, laid out in a multi-year financial plan, match a $74 million allocation from the State of New York, made in fiscal year 2009 as part of the SUNY capital plan for community colleges.

The final design is expected to take one year, followed by three years of construction.