Arlington Capital Investors

Arlington Capital Investors, LLC, abbreviated to ACI, is a corporation which Vassar College is a 50% investor in. Arlington Capital Investors has bought up property around Vassar and downtown Arlington since its founding in June 2021. The Juliet Building, which houses the College Store and other businesses, has been owned by different Vassar Proxy, College Properties LLC, since 1999.

On December 4th, 2025, Arlington Capital Investors became more widely known among the campus community after the Miscellany News reported on ACI's permitting application to construct a massive residential and commercial complex in Arlington. The article included extensive renderings of the planned structures ACI is seeking to build. The plans would include the demolition of many buildings, including Baccio's Pizzaria, Blue House and New Nelly's Restaurant.

The following week an opinion piece was published in the Misc expressing the widespread discontent around the ACI. For many students these articles were the first they had heard of Vassar's plans in Arlington, and many were upset. Vassar did not officially announce anything due to all activities being through proxies, with critics condemning the lack of transparency. Much of the controversy surrounds the Juliet Building, which used to be a movie theater before College Properties LLC acquired it. The building has historic value, and the sign above the entrance is protected as a historic landmark. The current plans put forward by ACI do leave the Juliet Building intact, but critics fear that future projects may disturb it. Vassar's intentions with Arlington are to make it a more welcoming downtown area that would be more attractive to potential students, which many view as gentrification. The new housing units in the development would also fight Poughkeepsie's ongoing housing shortage.

Some information about Vassar's Arlington plans was known as early as 2022, primarily among students who lived off campus. In 2023 Blue House, an off-campus student house on LaGrange Avenue, was bought up by ACI. Shortly after this, they began removing trees from the property. Blue House residents were informed in the 24-25 school year that the house would no longer be available for student housing beginning in the 26-27 school year.

Property records are publicly available and show that the parcels planned for the development are still split between College Properties LLC and Arlington Capital Investors LLC.