An Update on 51 Fulton

A building owned by Marist College on Fulton Street, colloquially referred to by students and staff as ‘51 Fulton,’ was recently re-renovated. This spurred the interest of Marist students, as rumors circulated regarding the potential usage of the building. In Fall 2017, the first iteration of the remodel was unveiled and opened to students as it was utilized as an interim art building while Steel Plant was built and remodeled. The renovations today indicate the beginning of yet another chapter for this building. 

According to Marist College, the building was first purchased for $600,000 in 2013. Geoffrey Brackett, Executive Vice President at Marist, added that it was originally owned by Dutchess County. “This building was used as the county’s paper recycling transfer station for many years, and its use had been replaced by other facilities,” he said. “It was rather an eyesore and in pretty bad shape when the College took it over.” 

Now, six years later, 51 Fulton is ready to be used for a new purpose. “The second renovation was to build out the rest of the building for future purposes for the College,” Brackett said. “In the near term, it will be used for swing space during the Dyson renovation.”

Though the space will soon be essential while Dyson is reworked, Brackett hinted at the potential for it to evolve yet again. “We envisioned it as a modern ‘tech hub’ type of space, and it will eventually house a significant part of Information Technology, and also an ‘Innovation Center’ for the College that will assist in cross-divisional innovation, support for our cloud services portfolio, and a space for the College to assist in the incubation of businesses,” he said. 

Though 51 Fulton was originally renovated to cater to art classes, housing open studio space, a gallery, and computer labs, the second renovation had a different agenda. Not only has the space expanded and increased, what it will be used for has also altered. Students will be able to access the space to see for themselves when it opens. 

“As students taking classes, it will be accessible when we migrate Dyson,” said Brackett.