Lauren Moss, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer at Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO), sat down for a video interview at Nareit’s REITworks: 2024 Sustainability & Social Responsibility Conference, held in McLean, Virginia from Sept. 10-12, where Vornado was awarded Nareit’s 2024 Impact at Scale award.
Moss shared insights on Vornado's award-winning PENN District project in New York City. She highlighted the project's approach to urban sustainability, not just through energy efficiency but by fostering inclusivity and accessibility within the community.
With sustainability at its core, Vornado has transformed, and will continue to transform, the PENN District into a new vision of the modern workplace and civic center at Manhattan's core. Vornado has set the new standard for the modern, sustainable workplace. This scalable model has elements that can be incorporated in almost any office building retrofit that are each additive to one another in creating the most sustainable workplace ecosystem.
The PENN District initiative reimagined the area around Penn Station, North America’s busiest transit hub, as a “connected campus” that enhances both infrastructure and public spaces.
“We put trees in the PENN District that hadn’t been there for many, many years, so now there are places for people to sit and relax,” she said.
The project also introduced widened sidewalks, enhanced accessibility features, bike lanes, and a range of food options, aiming to make the area more welcoming and accessible for all.
The PENN District portfolio of five office buildings includes eight acres of public space sitting on or around Penn Station. The fully amenitized buildings focus on the health and wellness of their tenants. Entries, plazas, and lobbies are reconfigured and/or relocated to be open, warm-welcoming spaces that provide ample opportunity for social interaction and programming.
Reflecting on the broader impact, Moss noted: “What’s also really important...is this idea of hospitality matched with the office environment and creating a community so that every single person has access.” Looking ahead, Vornado’s sustainability goals focus on supporting tenants to align operations with sustainable practices, a critical component of the company’s ongoing environmental commitment.