15 Upton Street
K-12 School in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
15 Upton Street is a 58,529-square-foot K-12 school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1939. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 70 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 55.2 kBtu/ft² and 189 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 55% of the 38 scored K-12 school buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 70 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 55.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 85.7 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 189 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 271,792 kWh |
| Natural gas | 23,030 therms |
| Water use | 421 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 58,529 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1029:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 70 | +7 | 55.2 kBtu/ft² | 189 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 63 | -7 | 55.7 kBtu/ft² | 194 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 70 | +5 | 55.1 kBtu/ft² | 190 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 65 | -9 | 60.5 kBtu/ft² | 207 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 74 | +6 | 46.3 kBtu/ft² | 157 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 68 | -1 | 65.1 kBtu/ft² | 216 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 69 | -10 | 57.1 kBtu/ft² | 196 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 79 | -1 | 51.3 kBtu/ft² | 216 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 80 | +11 | 52.7 kBtu/ft² | 228 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 69 | 65.4 kBtu/ft² | 284 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
CAMBRIDGE CITY OF
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Location
- Address
- 15 Upton Street
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.36300, -71.10830
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 900 Memorial Drivescore 47
Multifamily Housing · 450,849 sq ft
- 70 PACIFIC STscore —
College/University · 362,687 sq ft
- 812 Memorial Drscore 99
Multifamily Housing · 283,150 sq ft
- 45 Sidney Streetscore —
Laboratory · 277,000 sq ft
- 235 ALBANY STscore —
College/University · 252,835 sq ft
- 129 Franklin Streetscore 98
Multifamily Housing · 243,166 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 15 Upton Street compare with other K-12 school buildings in Cambridge?
The latest disclosures cover 45 K-12 school buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 15 Upton Street's ENERGY STAR score of 70 compares with an average of 60 across the 38 that report a score; it scores higher than 55% of them and lower than 42%. Its site EUI of 55.2 kBtu/ft² is about 12% below the average of 62.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 58,529 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 61,739 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1939, 17 years earlier than the group's average year built (1956). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².
How has 15 Upton Street's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 15 Upton Street, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 69 in 2015 to 70 in 2024 (+1 points); its best year on file was 2016, at 80. Site EUI moved from 65.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 55.2 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 16% decrease. Reported emissions went from 284 tCO₂e to 189 tCO₂e over the same span (down 33%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 70 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 70 means the building performs better than about 70% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 70 falls in band B — above median (70–84). It sits 5 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. 15 Upton Street's 55.2 kBtu/ft² across 58,529 sq ft works out to about 3.2 billion Btu (947 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 85.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 271,792 kWh of electricity, 23,030 therms of natural gas and 421 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 15 Upton Street to report its energy use?
15 Upton Street 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:B1029:2024). 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 K-12 school buildings in Cambridge
- 89 Elm Street· 58,323 sq ft · score 41 (D)
- 5 cadbury road· 55,000 sq ft · score 54 (D)
- 110 Cushing Street· 53,664 sq ft · score 40 (D)
- 178 Coolidge Hill· 42,978 sq ft · score 6 (D)
- 54 Essex Street· 32,918 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- 80 Sparks St.· 31,615 sq ft · score 92 (A)
- K-12 School buildings in Cambridge· 45 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 15 Upton Street's energy grade?
15 Upton Street scores 70 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2024 Cambridge disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 15 Upton Street use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 55.2 kBtu/ft² (85.7 kBtu/ft² source) across 58,529 sq ft, including 271,792 kWh of electricity and 23,030 therms of natural gas.
What are 15 Upton Street's carbon emissions?
15 Upton Street reported 189 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 15 Upton Street?
15 Upton Street is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.36300, -71.10830 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 15 Upton Street and when was it built?
15 Upton Street has 58,529 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1939 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is 15 Upton Street 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, “15 Upton Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/15-upton-street-e3973157 (data as of October 2, 2026).