At a glance
1280 Massachusetts Avenue is a 42,368-square-foot office building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1985. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 22 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 83.6 kBtu/ft² and 256 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 11% of the 94 scored office buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 22 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 83.6 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 234.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 256 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 1,038,373 kWh |
| Water use | 1,136 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 42,368 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1137:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 22 | -3 | 83.6 kBtu/ft² | 256 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 25 | -2 | 79.7 kBtu/ft² | 244 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 27 | -1 | 77.5 kBtu/ft² | 236 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 28 | -2 | 76.7 kBtu/ft² | 235 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 30 | -13 | 74.5 kBtu/ft² | 224 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 43 | -5 | 63.3 kBtu/ft² | 208 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 48 | +47 | 60.2 kBtu/ft² | 213 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 1 | 539.4 kBtu/ft² | 1,700 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | — | 0 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | — | 0 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
1280 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE OWNER MA, LLC
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 1280 Massachusetts Avenue
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.37260, -71.11700
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 52 Oxford Stscore —
College/University · 551,387 sq ft
- 1 Bennet Streetscore 67
Hotel · 498,000 sq ft
- 900 Memorial Drivescore 47
Multifamily Housing · 450,849 sq ft
- 459 Broadwayscore 71
K-12 School · 403,393 sq ft
- 1 Oxford Stscore —
College/University · 355,836 sq ft
- 75 Mount Auburn Streetscore 79
Office · 345,571 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 1280 Massachusetts Avenue compare with other office buildings in Cambridge?
The latest disclosures cover 117 office buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 1280 Massachusetts Avenue's ENERGY STAR score of 22 compares with an average of 64 across the 94 that report a score; it scores higher than 11% of them and lower than 88%. Its site EUI of 83.6 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 78.7 kBtu/ft².
At 42,368 sq ft, it is about 65% below the average floor area of 121,167 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1985, 20 years later than the group's average year built (1965). 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 1280 Massachusetts Avenue's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 1280 Massachusetts Avenue, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 1 in 2017 to 22 in 2024 (+21 points); its best year on file was 2018, at 48. Site EUI moved from 539.4 kBtu/ft² (2017) to 83.6 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 85% decrease.
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 22 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 22 means the building performs better than about 22% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 22 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 53 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. 1280 Massachusetts Avenue's 83.6 kBtu/ft² across 42,368 sq ft works out to about 3.5 billion Btu (1,038 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 234.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,038,373 kWh of electricity and 1,136 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 1280 Massachusetts Avenue to report its energy use?
1280 Massachusetts Avenue 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:B1137:2024). 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 office buildings in Cambridge
- 264 Main St· 42,126 sq ft · score 50 (D)
- 139 Main St· 41,857 sq ft · score 80 (B)
- 485 Mass Ave.· 39,961 sq ft · score 15 (D)
- 130 Prospect Street· 37,916 sq ft · score 90 (A)
- 77 Fawcett Street· 34,842 sq ft · score 11 (D)
- 497-507 Massachusetts Ave· 34,388 sq ft · score 12 (D)
- Office buildings in Cambridge· 117 benchmarked
- All Cambridge benchmarked buildings· BEUDO
- Most efficient large buildings in Cambridge
- Least efficient large buildings in Cambridge
- Biggest emitters in Cambridge
Frequently asked questions
What is 1280 Massachusetts Avenue's energy grade?
1280 Massachusetts Avenue scores 22 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 1280 Massachusetts Avenue use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 83.6 kBtu/ft² (234.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 42,368 sq ft, including 1,038,373 kWh of electricity.
What are 1280 Massachusetts Avenue's carbon emissions?
1280 Massachusetts Avenue reported 256 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 1280 Massachusetts Avenue?
1280 Massachusetts Avenue is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.37260, -71.11700 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 1280 Massachusetts Avenue and when was it built?
1280 Massachusetts Avenue has 42,368 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1985 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is 1280 Massachusetts Avenue 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, “1280 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/1280-massachusetts-avenue-f5f63d9f (data as of October 2, 2026).