500 MAIN ST
College/University in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
500 MAIN ST is a 367,689-square-foot college/university building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 2010. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported a site energy-use intensity of 393.1 kBtu/ft² and 9,320 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | — |
| Site EUI | 393.1 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 567.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 9,320 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 9,136,100 kWh |
| Natural gas | 33 therms |
| Water use | 17,265 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 367,689 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1481:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | — | 393.1 kBtu/ft² | 9,320 tCO₂e | |
| 2023 | — | 386.7 kBtu/ft² | 9,168 tCO₂e | |
| 2022 | — | 391.2 kBtu/ft² | 9,273 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | 397.2 kBtu/ft² | 9,415 tCO₂e | |
| 2020 | — | 386.9 kBtu/ft² | 9,132 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | 382.4 kBtu/ft² | 8,899 tCO₂e | |
| 2018 | — | 394.0 kBtu/ft² | 9,269 tCO₂e | |
| 2017 | — | 391.3 kBtu/ft² | 9,381 tCO₂e | |
| 2016 | — | 394.9 kBtu/ft² | 9,472 tCO₂e | |
| 2015 | — | 383.5 kBtu/ft² | 9,257 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
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 500 MAIN ST
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.36230, -71.08930
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 250 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
Laboratory · 1,362,662 sq ft
- 325 Main Stscore 87
Office · 494,512 sq ft
- 145 Broadwayscore 91
Office · 490,000 sq ft
- 314 Main St.score 80
Office · 482,220 sq ft
- 303 Binney Stscore —
Laboratory · 480,000 sq ft
- 32 VASSAR STscore —
College/University · 464,005 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 500 MAIN 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 393.1 kBtu/ft² is about 155% above the average of 154.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 367,689 sq ft, it is about 279% above the average floor area of 96,964 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2010, 61 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 500 MAIN ST's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 500 MAIN ST, covering report years 2015–2024. Site EUI moved from 383.5 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 393.1 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 3% increase. Reported emissions went from 9,257 tCO₂e to 9,320 tCO₂e over the same span (up 1%).
What does a site EUI of 393.1 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. 500 MAIN ST's 393.1 kBtu/ft² across 367,689 sq ft works out to about 144.5 billion Btu (42,360 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 567.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 9,136,100 kWh of electricity, 33 therms of natural gas and 17,265 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 500 MAIN ST to report its energy use?
500 MAIN 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:B1481:2024). 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
- 70 PACIFIC ST· 362,687 sq ft · EUI 67.0 kBtu/ft²
- 1 Oxford St· 355,836 sq ft · EUI 127.1 kBtu/ft²
- 1545 Massachusetts Avenue· 281,097 sq ft · EUI 87.2 kBtu/ft²
- 1586 Massachusetts Avenue· 262,602 sq ft · EUI 120.2 kBtu/ft²
- 31 AMES ST· 260,390 sq ft · EUI 538.6 kBtu/ft²
- 1 Education St· 255,000 sq ft · EUI 77.1 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 500 MAIN ST's energy grade?
500 MAIN ST did not report an ENERGY STAR score in its 2024 disclosure, but its site energy-use intensity was 393.1 kBtu/ft².
How much energy does 500 MAIN ST use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 393.1 kBtu/ft² (567.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 367,689 sq ft, including 9,136,100 kWh of electricity and 33 therms of natural gas.
What are 500 MAIN ST's carbon emissions?
500 MAIN ST reported 9,320 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 500 MAIN ST?
500 MAIN ST is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.36230, -71.08930 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 500 MAIN ST and when was it built?
500 MAIN ST has 367,689 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2010 as its year built. It is classed as college/university.
Is 500 MAIN ST 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, “500 MAIN ST, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/500-main-st-ef43e320 (data as of October 2, 2026).