54 Essex Street
K-12 School in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
54 Essex Street is a 32,918-square-foot K-12 school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1900. In its 2018 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 87 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 25.9 kBtu/ft² and 60 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 74% of the 38 scored K-12 school buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2018
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 87 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 25.9 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 72.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 60 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 249,692 kWh |
| Water use | 193 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 32,918 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1889:2018 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018latest | 87 | +11 | 25.9 kBtu/ft² | 60 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 76 | +3 | 25.3 kBtu/ft² | 62 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 73 | -4 | 27.0 kBtu/ft² | 67 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 77 | 25.3 kBtu/ft² | 64 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
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston
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Location
- Address
- 54 Essex Street
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.36770, -71.10060
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 250 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
Laboratory · 1,362,662 sq ft
- 250 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
Laboratory · 517,029 sq ft
- 70 PACIFIC STscore —
College/University · 362,687 sq ft
- 1493 Cambridge Streetscore 33
Hospital (General Medical & Surgical) · 360,250 sq ft
- 1575 Cambridge Streetscore —
Outpatient Rehabilitation/Physical Therapy · 352,622 sq ft
- 610 Main Streetscore —
Laboratory · 278,738 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Cambridge · biggest emitters
How does 54 Essex 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. 54 Essex Street's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 60 across the 38 that report a score; it scores higher than 74% of them and lower than 18%. Its site EUI of 25.9 kBtu/ft² is about 58% below the average of 62.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 32,918 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 61,739 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1900, 56 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 54 Essex Street's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 4 Cambridge disclosures for 54 Essex Street, covering report years 2015–2018. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 77 in 2015 to 87 in 2018 (+10 points). Site EUI moved from 25.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 25.9 kBtu/ft² (2018), an 2% increase. Reported emissions went from 64 tCO₂e to 60 tCO₂e over the same span (down 6%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 87 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 87 means the building performs better than about 87% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 87 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. 54 Essex Street's 25.9 kBtu/ft² across 32,918 sq ft works out to about 0.9 billion Btu (250 MWh-equivalent) in 2018. Its source EUI of 72.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 249,692 kWh of electricity and 193 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 54 Essex Street to report its energy use?
54 Essex 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 2018 disclosure (source record cambridge:B1889:2018). 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
- 80 Sparks St.· 31,615 sq ft · score 92 (A)
- 96 Concord Ave· 28,590 sq ft · score 26 (D)
- 765 Concord Avenu· 27,000 sq ft · score 69 (C)
- 50 Essex Street· 25,840 sq ft · score 16 (D)
- 178 Coolidge Hill· 21,553 sq ft · score 29 (D)
- 255 Bent St· 16,704 sq ft · score 82 (B)
- 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 54 Essex Street's energy grade?
54 Essex Street scores 87 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2018 Cambridge disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 54 Essex Street use?
Its 2018 site energy-use intensity was 25.9 kBtu/ft² (72.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 32,918 sq ft, including 249,692 kWh of electricity.
What are 54 Essex Street's carbon emissions?
54 Essex Street reported 60 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2018.
Where is 54 Essex Street?
54 Essex Street is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.36770, -71.10060 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 54 Essex Street and when was it built?
54 Essex Street has 32,918 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2018 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1900 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is 54 Essex Street covered by BEUDO?
Yes — it appears in the 2018 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, “54 Essex Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2018 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/54-essex-street-42ed1b14 (data as of October 2, 2026).