1 Porter Square
Strip Mall in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
1 Porter Square is a 56,078-square-foot strip mall building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1988. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 5 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 100.7 kBtu/ft² and 391 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 3% of the 374 scored buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 5 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 100.7 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 254.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 391 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 1,396,762 kWh |
| Natural gas | 8,841 therms |
| Gross floor area | 56,078 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1348:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 5 | +1 | 100.7 kBtu/ft² | 391 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 4 | +1 | 108.0 kBtu/ft² | 417 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 3 | -1 | 112.5 kBtu/ft² | 431 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 4 | ±0 | 106.3 kBtu/ft² | 410 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 4 | +3 | 116.0 kBtu/ft² | 426 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 1 | -80 | 150.4 kBtu/ft² | 522 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 81 | 42.9 kBtu/ft² | 157 tCO₂e | |
| 2017 | — | 37.0 kBtu/ft² | 148 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | 36.1 kBtu/ft² | 148 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | 44.8 kBtu/ft² | 190 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
BEUDO
Cambridge's 2023 BEUDO amendments require non-residential buildings of 100,000+ sq ft to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 (reductions starting 2026) and those of 25,000–100,000 sq ft by 2050 (starting 2030).
Ownership
CPUS PORTER SQUARE, LP
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Location
- Address
- 1 Porter Square
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.38850, -71.11840
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 46-56 Linnaean Streetscore —
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- 1815 MASSACHUSETTS AVEscore —
College/University · 231,590 sq ft
- 1815 MASSACHUSETTS AVEscore —
College/University · 231,590 sq ft
- 64 Linnaean Streetscore —
Residence Hall/Dormitory · 191,944 sq ft
- 24 Fernald Drivescore 91
Multifamily Housing · 181,869 sq ft
- 1-53 White Streetscore —
Retail Store · 175,898 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 1 Porter Square compare with other strip mall buildings in Cambridge?
The latest disclosures cover 6 strip mall buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 1 Porter Square's ENERGY STAR score of 5 compares with an average of 5 across the 1 that report a score. Its site EUI of 100.7 kBtu/ft² is about 15% above the average of 87.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 56,078 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 110,740 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1988, 16 years later than the group's average year built (1972). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,607 strip mall buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 68 and a site EUI of 83.1 kBtu/ft².
How has 1 Porter Square's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 1 Porter Square, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 81 in 2018 to 5 in 2024 (-76 points); its best year on file was 2018, at 81. Site EUI moved from 44.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 100.7 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 125% increase. Reported emissions went from 190 tCO₂e to 391 tCO₂e over the same span (up 105%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 5 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 5 means the building performs better than about 5% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 5 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 70 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Cambridge, 50% 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. 1 Porter Square's 100.7 kBtu/ft² across 56,078 sq ft works out to about 5.6 billion Btu (1,655 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 254.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,396,762 kWh of electricity and 8,841 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 1 Porter Square to report its energy use?
1 Porter Square reports under BEUDO, the legal basis of Cambridge's Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO), which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record cambridge:B1348:2024). Cambridge's 2023 BEUDO amendments require non-residential buildings of 100,000+ sq ft to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 (reductions starting 2026) and those of 25,000–100,000 sq ft by 2050 (starting 2030).
More strip mall buildings in Cambridge
Frequently asked questions
What is 1 Porter Square's energy grade?
1 Porter Square scores 5 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2024 Cambridge disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 1 Porter Square use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 100.7 kBtu/ft² (254.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 56,078 sq ft, including 1,396,762 kWh of electricity and 8,841 therms of natural gas.
What are 1 Porter Square's carbon emissions?
1 Porter Square reported 391 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 1 Porter Square?
1 Porter Square is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.38850, -71.11840 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 1 Porter Square and when was it built?
1 Porter Square has 56,078 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1988 as its year built. It is classed as strip mall.
Is 1 Porter Square covered by BEUDO?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under BEUDO.
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) (BEUDO), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “1 Porter Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/1-porter-square-0263985f (data as of October 2, 2026).