Civic Center Plaza - San Diego
Office in California, CA · 1200 3Rd Avenue, San Diego · 92101
At a glance
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego is a 290,582-square-foot office building at 1200 3Rd Avenue, San Diego in San Diego, California, built in 1971. In its 2020 California benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 94 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 34.8 kBtu/ft² and 646 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 75% of the 4,912 scored office buildings in California.
AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10) · reporting year 2020
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 94 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 34.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | — |
| GHG emissions | 646 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 2.2 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 2,637,636 kWh |
| Natural gas | 9,019 therms |
| Gross floor area | 290,582 sq ft |
| Source record | california:1470597:2020 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020latest | 94 | +3 | 34.8 kBtu/ft² | 646 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 91 | +1 | 38.6 kBtu/ft² | 768 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 90 | 39.5 kBtu/ft² | 792 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)
AB 802 requires every California commercial building over 50,000 sq ft to report energy use to the CEC annually; the CEC publicly discloses the results statewide.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 1200 3Rd Avenue, San Diego
- City
- California
- State
- California
- ZIP
- 92101
- Coordinates
- 32.71833, -117.16203
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in California · biggest emitters
How does Civic Center Plaza - San Diego compare with other office buildings in California?
The latest disclosures cover 6,214 office buildings in California, out of 40,029 buildings citywide. Civic Center Plaza - San Diego's ENERGY STAR score of 94 compares with an average of 75 across the 4,912 that report a score; it scores higher than 75% of them and lower than 22%. Its site EUI of 34.8 kBtu/ft² is about 38% below the average of 56.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 39% below the group average of 3.6 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 290,582 sq ft, it is about twice the average floor area of 151,937 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1971, 14 years earlier than the group's average year built (1985). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².
How has Civic Center Plaza - San Diego's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 3 California disclosures for Civic Center Plaza - San Diego, covering report years 2018–2020. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 90 in 2018 to 94 in 2020 (+4 points). Site EUI moved from 39.5 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 34.8 kBtu/ft² (2020), a 12% decrease. Reported emissions went from 792 tCO₂e to 646 tCO₂e over the same span (down 18%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 94 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 94 means the building performs better than about 94% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 94 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In California, 65% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Civic Center Plaza - San Diego's 34.8 kBtu/ft² across 290,582 sq ft works out to about 10.1 billion Btu (2,964 MWh-equivalent) in 2020. The disclosure also reports 2,637,636 kWh of electricity and 9,019 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Civic Center Plaza - San Diego to report its energy use?
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego reports under AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10), the legal basis of California's Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide), which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2020 disclosure (source record california:1470597:2020). AB 802 requires every California commercial building over 50,000 sq ft to report energy use to the CEC annually; the CEC publicly discloses the results statewide.
More office buildings in California
- 418 Public Utilities Commission Building· 290,525 sq ft · score 98 (A)
- Us-Mtv-40· 290,294 sq ft · score 46 (D)
- Maple Plaza· 290,287 sq ft · score 98 (A)
- 3000 Tannery Way· 290,082 sq ft · score 50 (D)
- 400 National Way· 290,044 sq ft · EUI 11.4 kBtu/ft²
- Central Division Police Station· 289,965 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- Office buildings in California· 6,214 benchmarked
- All California benchmarked buildings· AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)
- Most efficient large buildings in California
- Least efficient large buildings in California
- Biggest emitters in California
Frequently asked questions
What is Civic Center Plaza - San Diego's energy grade?
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego scores 94 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2020 California disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Civic Center Plaza - San Diego use?
Its 2020 site energy-use intensity was 34.8 kBtu/ft² across 290,582 sq ft, including 2,637,636 kWh of electricity and 9,019 therms of natural gas.
What are Civic Center Plaza - San Diego's carbon emissions?
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego reported 646 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (2.2 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2020.
Where is Civic Center Plaza - San Diego?
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego is at 1200 3Rd Avenue, San Diego, in San Diego, California 92101. Its coordinates are 32.71833, -117.16203 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) file.
How big is Civic Center Plaza - San Diego and when was it built?
Civic Center Plaza - San Diego has 290,582 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2020 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1971 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Civic Center Plaza - San Diego covered by AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)?
Yes — it appears in the 2020 Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10).
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) (AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Civic Center Plaza - San Diego, San Diego, California — 2020 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/california/civic-center-plaza-san-diego-f1099b4d (data as of July 9, 2026).