First American Plaza
Office in California, CA · 1737 N. First Street, San Jose · 95112
At a glance
First American Plaza is a 84,453-square-foot office building at 1737 N. First Street, San Jose in San Jose, California, built in 1971. In its 2021 California benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 81 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 44.8 kBtu/ft² and 225 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 44% of the 4,912 scored office buildings in California.
AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10) · reporting year 2021
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 81 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 44.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | — |
| GHG emissions | 225 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 2.7 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 689,564 kWh |
| Natural gas | 15,574 therms |
| Gross floor area | 84,453 sq ft |
| Source record | california:6732551:2021 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021latest | 81 | -2 | 44.8 kBtu/ft² | 225 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 83 | +9 | 44.0 kBtu/ft² | 231 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 74 | +3 | 58.0 kBtu/ft² | 325 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 71 | 55.6 kBtu/ft² | 301 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
- 1737 N. First Street, San Jose
- City
- California
- State
- California
- ZIP
- 95112
- Coordinates
- 37.36863, -121.91479
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in California · biggest emitters
How does First American Plaza compare with other office buildings in California?
The latest disclosures cover 6,214 office buildings in California, out of 40,029 buildings citywide. First American Plaza's ENERGY STAR score of 81 compares with an average of 75 across the 4,912 that report a score; it scores higher than 44% of them and lower than 54%. Its site EUI of 44.8 kBtu/ft² is about 21% 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 2.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 25% below the group average of 3.6 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 84,453 sq ft, it is about 44% below 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 First American Plaza's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 4 California disclosures for First American Plaza, covering report years 2018–2021. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 71 in 2018 to 81 in 2021 (+10 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 83. Site EUI moved from 55.6 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 44.8 kBtu/ft² (2021), a 19% decrease. Reported emissions went from 301 tCO₂e to 225 tCO₂e over the same span (down 25%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 81 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 81 means the building performs better than about 81% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 81 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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. First American Plaza's 44.8 kBtu/ft² across 84,453 sq ft works out to about 3.8 billion Btu (1,109 MWh-equivalent) in 2021. The disclosure also reports 689,564 kWh of electricity and 15,574 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires First American Plaza to report its energy use?
First American Plaza 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 2021 disclosure (source record california:6732551:2021). 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
- Ca9911 - S. Los Robles Administration· 84,450 sq ft · score 57 (C)
- 021 State Personnel Building· 84,400 sq ft · score 83 (B)
- 9300 Flair Drive (M1)· 84,395 sq ft · score 75 (B)
- 9300 Flair Dr, El Monte, Ca 91731, Usa· 84,395 sq ft · score 57 (C)
- Yuba County Government Center· 84,362 sq ft · score 95 (A)
- 26800-26850 Agoura Rd (Cypress Land)· 84,334 sq ft · score 56 (C)
- 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 First American Plaza's energy grade?
First American Plaza scores 81 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2021 California disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does First American Plaza use?
Its 2021 site energy-use intensity was 44.8 kBtu/ft² across 84,453 sq ft, including 689,564 kWh of electricity and 15,574 therms of natural gas.
What are First American Plaza's carbon emissions?
First American Plaza reported 225 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (2.7 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2021.
Where is First American Plaza?
First American Plaza is at 1737 N. First Street, San Jose, in San Jose, California 95112. Its coordinates are 37.36863, -121.91479 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking Program (statewide) file.
How big is First American Plaza and when was it built?
First American Plaza has 84,453 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2021 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1971 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is First American Plaza covered by AB 802 (Public Resources Code §25402.10)?
Yes — it appears in the 2021 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, “First American Plaza, San Jose, California — 2021 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/california/first-american-plaza-18f1c503 (data as of July 9, 2026).