PAE Engineers, a sustainable engineering and consulting firm, announced today that it is expanding its operations on the East Coast with the opening of its New York City office. The milestone punctuates a landmark year for one of the nation's top engineering and design firms addressing the climate crisis, including the completion of groundbreaking sustainable and regenerative projects like the Portland Airport New Main Terminal and Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavillion.
PAE's New York City office is located in a historic building on 150 West 30th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood. Led by Trevor Boz, Principal and New York Office Director at PAE, the locally based team is comprised of 15 employees and poised to grow. By expanding to New York City, PAE will advance net-zero building projects and renovations across the five boroughs and beyond on the East Coast. The firm brings its expertise in all-electric and living building design and regenerative mechanical, electrical, and plumbing building systems to help building owners and developers meet emissions requirements.
"At PAE we embrace innovation, transparency, sustainability, and lifelong curiosity. A commitment to a more resilient, sustainable planet is woven into every project we undertake.
PAE's expansion to New York demonstrates our commitment to accelerating our impact on reversing the effects of climate change by bringing our extensive experience in building electrification and decarbonization to the East Coast," said Christian J. Agulles, President and CEO of PAE. "This move allows us to better serve our East Coast clients while introducing our innovative building design solutions and employee-focused practices to the New York market."
New York has enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and committed to having 70% of the state's power come from renewable sources by 2030, and 100% by 2040. In addition, New York's Law 97, which requires 50,000 city buildings over 25,000 square feet to significantly cut emissions and move towards net zero by 2050, also went into effect earlier this year, further driving the need for decarbonization solutions. These regulations are compelling building owners to build and retrofit buildings with high-efficiency, low-carbon solutions. New York City's diversity of buildings, historic architecture, and dense urban space present unique challenges for decarbonized building goals.
"New York City is always changing. Today, we have a tremendous opportunity to push its next evolution towards sustainability and decarbonization," said Trevor Boz, Principal and New York Region Leader of PAE. "PAE has already completed the design of over a hundred all-electric projects across the country. With our office ribbon-cutting, we're thrilled to expand our high-performance building design principles and capabilities across the Empire State and East Coast."
The new expansion closes out a year of achievements for PAE:
- Revenue and Business Growth: PAE recorded its fourth consecutive year of record revenues. The increase was driven by projects in the mission-critical, aviation, healthcare, renewable energy, and sustainable district planning sectors, with 536 projects completed in the U.S. PAE increased its headcount by 16% to 400 total employees, and achieved a 91% engagement score in their tri-annual employee survey.
- Portland Airport New Main Terminal: PAE engineered a ground water heat pump to make the terminal 90% fossil fuel-free, cutting energy use intensity by half per square foot while doubling passenger capacity to 35 million.
- Seattle Aquarium Addition: PAE designed the Seattle Aquarium's new Ocean Pavilion with an all-electric system, achieving a fossil fuel-free, carbon-neutral facility that integrates with the city's Waterfront development and houses over 3,500 sea creatures.
- Appalachian State University, Conservatory for Biodiversity Education and Research: PAE is contributing engineering design to this North Carolina academic facility. It is designed to the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge Energy Petal, meaning it generates more energy than it uses.
- Honored with Top Industry Awards: PAE received 27 awards for 21 unique projects in 2024. Industry wins include the prestigious American Institute of Architects (AIA) COTE Top Ten Award and the AIA Seattle Energy in Design Award for reducing operational carbon in Founder's Hall, Foster School of Business, University of Washington building by 85%.
"To fight the climate crisis, the world needs visionaries who refuse to settle for solutions that have been done before," said Sharron van der Meulen, managing partner at ZGF. "The team at PAE will explore every possibility, open every door, and flip over every stone until the best solution is uncovered. It's why they have been a trusted partner of ours for years."
PAE will continue to expand its footprint along the East Coast and across the U.S. in 2025.
