55 Essex Street
Multifamily Housing in Cambridge, MA
At a glance
55 Essex Street is a 50,038-square-foot multifamily housing building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1963. In its 2024 Cambridge benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 21 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 96.8 kBtu/ft² and 287 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 6% of the 155 scored multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge.
BEUDO · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 21 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 96.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 156.8 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 287 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 461,964 kWh |
| Natural gas | 32,693 therms |
| Water use | 2,186 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 50,038 sq ft |
| Source record | cambridge:B1442:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 21 | +2 | 96.8 kBtu/ft² | 287 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 19 | -5 | 98.5 kBtu/ft² | 292 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 24 | +8 | 95.8 kBtu/ft² | 285 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 16 | -10 | 106.4 kBtu/ft² | 313 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 26 | +4 | 94.3 kBtu/ft² | 278 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 22 | +2 | 102.7 kBtu/ft² | 292 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 20 | +12 | 105.1 kBtu/ft² | 307 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 8 | +4 | 120.7 kBtu/ft² | 357 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 4 | ±0 | 130.9 kBtu/ft² | 386 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 4 | 140.5 kBtu/ft² | 414 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 HOUSING AUTHORITY
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Location
- Address
- 55 Essex Street
- City
- Cambridge
- State
- Massachusetts
- Coordinates
- 42.36770, -71.10130
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
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- 250 Massachusetts Avenuescore —
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- 70 PACIFIC STscore —
College/University · 362,687 sq ft
- 1493 Cambridge Streetscore 33
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- 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 55 Essex Street compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge?
The latest disclosures cover 187 multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 55 Essex Street's ENERGY STAR score of 21 compares with an average of 75 across the 155 that report a score; it scores higher than 6% of them and lower than 93%. Its site EUI of 96.8 kBtu/ft² is about 70% above the average of 56.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 50,038 sq ft, it is about 62% below the average floor area of 132,415 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1963, 10 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 55 Essex Street's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 55 Essex Street, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 4 in 2015 to 21 in 2024 (+17 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 26. Site EUI moved from 140.5 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 96.8 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 31% decrease. Reported emissions went from 414 tCO₂e to 287 tCO₂e over the same span (down 31%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 21 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 21 means the building performs better than about 21% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 21 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 54 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. 55 Essex Street's 96.8 kBtu/ft² across 50,038 sq ft works out to about 4.8 billion Btu (1,420 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 156.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 461,964 kWh of electricity, 32,693 therms of natural gas and 2,186 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 55 Essex Street to report its energy use?
55 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 2024 disclosure (source record cambridge:B1442:2024). 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
- 287 Harvard Street· 50,000 sq ft · score 93 (A)
- 1008 Massachusetts Avenue· 50,000 sq ft · score 57 (C)
- 173 Pleasant Street· 50,000 sq ft
- 375 Harvard Street· 49,940 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- 262 Monsignor O'Brien Hwy· 49,096 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- 842-860 (even) Massachusetts Ave· 48,704 sq ft · score 65 (C)
- 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 55 Essex Street's energy grade?
55 Essex Street scores 21 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2024 Cambridge disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 55 Essex Street use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 96.8 kBtu/ft² (156.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 50,038 sq ft, including 461,964 kWh of electricity and 32,693 therms of natural gas.
What are 55 Essex Street's carbon emissions?
55 Essex Street reported 287 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2024.
Where is 55 Essex Street?
55 Essex Street is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its coordinates are 42.36770, -71.10130 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) file.
How big is 55 Essex Street and when was it built?
55 Essex Street has 50,038 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1963 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 55 Essex Street 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, “55 Essex Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/cambridge/55-essex-street-67bb815e (data as of October 2, 2026).