Vornado's Steve Roth takes ‘victory lap' for PENN 1 and PENN 2

See more of our coverage in your search results. Vornado scored a 38,000-square-foot expansion at PENN 1 by payroll and HR management platform Gusto, which brought the redesigned tower to over 90% leased. The asking rent was $135 per square foot, sources said. But while Gusto's move is relatively modest, it's revealing to hear Vornado chairman Steve Roth's comments in the company's second-quarter earnings call. PENN1 is more than 90% leased after payroll and HR management platform Gusto signed a lease for 38,000 square feet. Matthew McDermott Vornado leased 978,000 square feet of Manhattan offices in the year's first half, Roth said — most with an average starting rent of $105 per square foot. He declared a 'victory lap' for both PENN 1 and sister property PENN 2 across from Madison Square Garden. At PENN 1, 'broadly speaking, we invested $200 per square foot to achieve a $50 a foot uptick in rents, which when all gets said and done, is a 25% return,' Roth said. Vornado spent $450 million to turn the once obsolescent building into a sparkling, 2.5 million square-foot trophy with a dramatic new glass curtain wall.