BuildingCensus
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21 AMES ST

College/University in Cambridge, MA

At a glance

21 AMES ST is a 116,490-square-foot college/university building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1952. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported a site energy-use intensity of 405.3 kBtu/ft² and 3,058 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions.

ENERGY STAR score
—
not reported · 2024
Site EUI
405.3
kBtu/ft²
GHG emissions
3,058
tCO₂e
GHG intensity
—
kgCO₂e/ft²
Floor area
116,490
sq ft
Year built
1952
vintage
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85–10070–8455–691–54
This entry + 6 nearby

BEUDO · reporting year 2024

Benchmarking record

FieldValue
ENERGY STAR score—
Site EUI405.3 kBtu/ft²
Source EUI581.8 kBtu/ft²
GHG emissions3,058 tCO₂e
GHG intensity—
Electricity2,808,598 kWh
Natural gas67 therms
Water use980 kgal
Gross floor area116,490 sq ft
Source recordcambridge:B1526:2024

The disclosure history

Year over year

YearScoreΔSite EUIGHG emissions
2024latest—405.3 kBtu/ft²3,058 tCO₂e
2023—416.7 kBtu/ft²3,145 tCO₂e
2022—423.1 kBtu/ft²3,194 tCO₂e
2021—419.7 kBtu/ft²3,168 tCO₂e
2020—393.3 kBtu/ft²2,978 tCO₂e
2019—403.9 kBtu/ft²3,012 tCO₂e
2018—437.7 kBtu/ft²3,299 tCO₂e
2017—459.4 kBtu/ft²3,502 tCO₂e
2016—490.0 kBtu/ft²3,731 tCO₂e
2015—506.2 kBtu/ft²3,867 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).

Program details →

Ownership

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.

Location

Address
21 AMES ST
State
Massachusetts
Coordinates
42.36040, -71.09060

Within ~1 km

Nearby benchmarked buildings

See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters

How does 21 AMES ST compare with other college/university buildings in Cambridge?

The latest disclosures cover 203 college/university buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. Its site EUI of 405.3 kBtu/ft² is about 163% above the average of 154.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 116,490 sq ft, it is about 20% above the average floor area of 96,964 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1952, 3 years later than the group's average year built (1949). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 2,113 college/university buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 68 and a site EUI of 98.7 kBtu/ft².

How has 21 AMES ST's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 21 AMES ST, covering report years 2015–2024. Site EUI moved from 506.2 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 405.3 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 20% decrease. Reported emissions went from 3,867 tCO₂e to 3,058 tCO₂e over the same span (down 21%).

What does a site EUI of 405.3 kBtu/ft² mean?

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. 21 AMES ST's 405.3 kBtu/ft² across 116,490 sq ft works out to about 47.2 billion Btu (13,837 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 581.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,808,598 kWh of electricity, 67 therms of natural gas and 980 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 21 AMES ST to report its energy use?

21 AMES 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:B1526:2024). 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 college/university buildings in Cambridge

Frequently asked questions

What is 21 AMES ST's energy grade?

21 AMES ST did not report an ENERGY STAR score in its 2024 disclosure, but its site energy-use intensity was 405.3 kBtu/ft².

How much energy does 21 AMES ST use?

Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 405.3 kBtu/ft² (581.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 116,490 sq ft, including 2,808,598 kWh of electricity and 67 therms of natural gas.

What are 21 AMES ST's carbon emissions?

21 AMES ST reported 3,058 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.

Where is 21 AMES ST?

21 AMES ST is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.36040, -71.09060 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.

How big is 21 AMES ST and when was it built?

21 AMES ST has 116,490 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1952 as its year built. It is classed as college/university.

Is 21 AMES 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, “21 AMES ST, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/21-ames-st-76da090f (data as of October 2, 2026).