Gusto Doubles Office Space at Vornado’s Penn 1 With 13-Year Lease Extension

Gusto Doubles Office Space at Vornado’s Penn 1 With 13-Year Lease Extension

Human resources software firm Gusto has expanded its presence at Vornado Realty Trust’s Penn 1 tower in Midtown Manhattan, signing a 13-year lease that adds 38,000 square feet on the building’s 47th floor, according to reports first published by The Real Deal.

Alongside the expansion, the company renewed its 38,000-square-foot space on the 52nd floor for another five years, lifting its total footprint at the property — also known as 1 Pennsylvania Plaza — to 76,000 square feet.

The asking rent for the deal was $135 per square foot. CBRE’s Jeff Fisher, Sacha Zarba and Conor Krup advised Gusto, while Vornado handled the landlord side in-house through Josh Glick, Jared Silverman and Anthony Cugini. None of the parties immediately responded to requests for comment.

Penn 1 is the largest office asset in Vornado’s Penn District portfolio, a 2.5-million-square-foot, 55-story tower that completed a $450 million renovation in 2023. The overhaul introduced more than 160,000 square feet of amenities, including a restaurant and a 35,000-square-foot wellness and fitness center.

The $135-per-square-foot asking rent stands well above the Midtown average of $85.55 per square foot in August, per CBRE data — a gap that underscores the tower’s positioning in one of Manhattan’s most active office submarkets following the Penn Station area’s redevelopment momentum.

Gusto joins a tenant roster that includes Samsung, which doubled its offices at the building last year, along with Dell, United Healthcare, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

CBRE Group, the brokerage that represented the tenant, traded at $146.73 in recent trading, down 1.35% from its prior close of $148.74, giving the real estate services firm a market capitalization of roughly $43.7 billion.

Source: original release

What to watch

• Vornado’s upcoming earnings report for further leasing activity and occupancy updates at Penn 1 and the broader Penn District.
• Midtown asking-rent trends from CBRE’s monthly office reports to see whether the spread over the borough average persists.
• Additional lease expansions or renewals by existing Penn 1 tenants, following Samsung’s and Gusto’s recent moves to grow their footprints.