3 James Street
College/University in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
3 James Street is a 26,790-square-foot college/university building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1907. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported a site energy-use intensity of 48.7 kBtu/ft² and 83 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | — |
| Site EUI | 48.7 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 99.4 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 83 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 216,614 kWh |
| Natural gas | 5,650 therms |
| Water use | 124 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 26,790 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1292:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | — | 48.7 kBtu/ft² | 83 tCO₂e | |
| 2023 | — | 46.8 kBtu/ft² | 80 tCO₂e | |
| 2022 | — | 49.4 kBtu/ft² | 84 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | 47.8 kBtu/ft² | 81 tCO₂e | |
| 2020 | — | 41.1 kBtu/ft² | 69 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | — | 45 tCO₂e | |
| 2018 | — | 27.0 kBtu/ft² | 50 tCO₂e | |
| 2017 | — | 30.1 kBtu/ft² | 59 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | 26.4 kBtu/ft² | 51 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | 29.6 kBtu/ft² | 58 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
PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 3 James Street
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.37570, -71.12310
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 52 Oxford Stscore —
College/University · 551,387 sq ft
- 1 Bennet Streetscore 67
Hotel · 498,000 sq ft
- 1 Oxford Stscore —
College/University · 355,836 sq ft
- 75 Mount Auburn Streetscore 79
Office · 345,571 sq ft
- 1545 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
College/University · 281,097 sq ft
- 1586 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
College/University · 262,602 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 3 James Street 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 48.7 kBtu/ft² is about 68% below the average of 154.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 26,790 sq ft, it is about 72% below the average floor area of 96,964 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1907, 42 years earlier 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 3 James Street's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 3 James Street, covering report years 2015–2024. Site EUI moved from 29.6 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 48.7 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 65% increase. Reported emissions went from 58 tCO₂e to 83 tCO₂e over the same span (up 43%).
What does a site EUI of 48.7 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. 3 James Street's 48.7 kBtu/ft² across 26,790 sq ft works out to about 1.3 billion Btu (382 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 99.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 216,614 kWh of electricity, 5,650 therms of natural gas and 124 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 3 James Street to report its energy use?
3 James 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:B1292:2024). 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
- 47 Francis Ave· 26,719 sq ft · EUI 65.6 kBtu/ft²
- 77 MASSACHUSETTS AVE (REAR)· 26,705 sq ft · EUI 391.1 kBtu/ft²
- 14 Divinity Ave· 26,649 sq ft · EUI 77.4 kBtu/ft²
- 26 Everett Street· 26,645 sq ft · EUI 58.0 kBtu/ft²
- 8 Linden Street· 26,578 sq ft · EUI 18.2 kBtu/ft²
- 77 VASSAR ST· 26,079 sq ft · EUI 304.9 kBtu/ft²
- College/University buildings in Cambridge· 203 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 3 James Street's energy grade?
3 James Street did not report an ENERGY STAR score in its 2024 disclosure, but its site energy-use intensity was 48.7 kBtu/ft².
How much energy does 3 James Street use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 48.7 kBtu/ft² (99.4 kBtu/ft² source) across 26,790 sq ft, including 216,614 kWh of electricity and 5,650 therms of natural gas.
What are 3 James Street's carbon emissions?
3 James Street reported 83 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 3 James Street?
3 James Street is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.37570, -71.12310 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 3 James Street and when was it built?
3 James Street has 26,790 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1907 as its year built. It is classed as college/university.
Is 3 James Street covered by BEUDO?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under BEUDO.
Working with Cambridge building benchmarking records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
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, “3 James Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/3-james-street-82d7c80b (data as of October 2, 2026).