975 Memorial Drive

How does 975 Memorial Drive compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge?

The latest disclosures cover 187 multifamily housing buildings in Cambridge, out of 902 buildings citywide. 975 Memorial Drive's ENERGY STAR score of 23 compares with an average of 75 across the 155 that report a score; it scores higher than 7% of them and lower than 92%. Its site EUI of 65.7 kBtu/ft² is about 15% above the average of 56.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.

At 147,273 sq ft, it is about 11% above the average floor area of 132,415 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1985, 12 years later 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 975 Memorial Drive's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 10 Cambridge disclosures for 975 Memorial Drive, covering report years 2015–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 85 in 2015 to 23 in 2024 (-62 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 85. Site EUI moved from 39.0 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 65.7 kBtu/ft² (2024), an 68% increase. Reported emissions went from 440 tCO₂e to 663 tCO₂e over the same span (up 51%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 23 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 23 means the building performs better than about 23% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 23 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 52 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. 975 Memorial Drive's 65.7 kBtu/ft² across 147,273 sq ft works out to about 9.7 billion Btu (2,836 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 161.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,293,414 kWh of electricity, 18,478 therms of natural gas and 20 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 975 Memorial Drive to report its energy use?

975 Memorial Drive 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:B1658:2024). 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).