20 Ware St
Multifamily Housing in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
20 Ware St is a 55,005-square-foot multifamily housing building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1910. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 93 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 51.7 kBtu/ft² and 159 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 66% of the 155 scored multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 93 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 51.7 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 67.7 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 159 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 123,384 kWh |
| Natural gas | 24,239 therms |
| Water use | 1,983 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 55,005 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1711:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 93 | -1 | 51.7 kBtu/ft² | 159 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 94 | -6 | 47.7 kBtu/ft² | 149 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 100 | ±0 | 9.5 kBtu/ft² | 145 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 100 | ±0 | 9.6 kBtu/ft² | 153 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 100 | ±0 | 10.4 kBtu/ft² | 155 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 100 | ±0 | 10.0 kBtu/ft² | 164 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 100 | +43 | 9.8 kBtu/ft² | 168 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 57 | -43 | 64.2 kBtu/ft² | 212 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 100 | ±0 | 11.1 kBtu/ft² | 185 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 100 | 11.4 kBtu/ft² | 194 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 COMMUNITY HOUSING, INC.
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Location
- Address
- 20 Ware St
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.37350, -71.11230
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
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- 900 Memorial Drivescore 47
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- 459 Broadwayscore 71
K-12 School · 403,393 sq ft
- 1493 Cambridge Streetscore 33
Hospital (General Medical & Surgical) · 360,250 sq ft
- 1 Oxford Stscore —
College/University · 355,836 sq ft
- 1575 Cambridge Streetscore —
Outpatient Rehabilitation/Physical Therapy · 352,622 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 20 Ware St compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge?
The latest disclosures cover 187 multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 20 Ware St's ENERGY STAR score of 93 compares with an average of 75 across the 155 that report a score; it scores higher than 66% of them and lower than 29%. Its site EUI of 51.7 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 56.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 55,005 sq ft, it is about 58% below the average floor area of 132,415 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1910, 63 years earlier than the group's average year built (1973). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².
How has 20 Ware St's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 20 Ware St, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 100 in 2015 to 93 in 2024 (-7 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 100. Site EUI moved from 11.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 51.7 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 354% increase. Reported emissions went from 194 tCO₂e to 159 tCO₂e over the same span (down 18%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 93 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 93 means the building performs better than about 93% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 93 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 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. 20 Ware St's 51.7 kBtu/ft² across 55,005 sq ft works out to about 2.8 billion Btu (833 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 67.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 123,384 kWh of electricity, 24,239 therms of natural gas and 1,983 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 20 Ware St to report its energy use?
20 Ware St 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:B1711:2024). 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 multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge
- 17-19A Forest Street· 53,884 sq ft · score 6 (D)
- 8-10 Mt Auburn St· 53,324 sq ft · EUI 47.4 kBtu/ft²
- 603 Concord Ave· 52,656 sq ft · score 99 (A)
- 36, 38, 40, 42 Linnaean Street· 52,355 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- 8 Harrington Terrace· 51,344 sq ft · score 77 (B)
- 7 Temple Street· 50,849 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in Cambridge· 187 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 20 Ware St's energy grade?
20 Ware St scores 93 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2024 Cambridge disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 20 Ware St use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 51.7 kBtu/ft² (67.7 kBtu/ft² source) across 55,005 sq ft, including 123,384 kWh of electricity and 24,239 therms of natural gas.
What are 20 Ware St's carbon emissions?
20 Ware St reported 159 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 20 Ware St?
20 Ware St is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.37350, -71.11230 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 20 Ware St and when was it built?
20 Ware St has 55,005 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1910 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 20 Ware St 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, “20 Ware St, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/20-ware-st-acf6a48a (data as of October 2, 2026).