President M. Lee Pelton said he was pleased with the new visitor center on Boylston Street and discussed future construction plans in a speech at Monday’s open house for the space.

About 30 members of the Emerson community were present.

“This is a vibrant place that conveys the excellence, the imagination, and the inventiveness for which we are [known],” he said.

The new prominently displayed center replaced the previous one, which was tucked away from the foot traffic of Boylston Street in the Tufte Performance and Production Center, in February.

Pelton said the three-story facility was where prospective students would begin to engage with Emerson’s academic community.

“The visitor center is vital to our campus, and it’s vital to everything we really do here,” he said.

He said the future building projects, including a residence hall and dining facility, aimed to create what he called a “front porch,” to enhance the college’s sense of identity. According to Pelton, the college will be able to house about 650 additional students when the construction finishes in 2019.