Tropical Discovery
Zoo in Denver, CO · 2300 Steele St · 80205
At a glance
Tropical Discovery is a 47,183-square-foot zoo building at 2300 Steele St in Denver, Colorado, built in 1991. In its 2023 Denver benchmarking disclosure it reported a site energy-use intensity of 327.9 kBtu/ft² and 1,076 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Energize Denver Building Performance Policy · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | — |
| Site EUI | 327.9 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | — |
| GHG emissions | 1,076 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 730,350 kWh |
| Natural gas | 129,772 therms |
| Gross floor area | 47,183 sq ft |
| Source record | denver:2790:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | — | 327.9 kBtu/ft² | 1,076 tCO₂e | |
| 2022 | — | 466.4 kBtu/ft² | 1,840 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | 505.4 kBtu/ft² | 2,004 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Energize Denver Building Performance Policy
Energize Denver sets energy-use (EUI) targets for buildings of 25,000+ sq ft — for most buildings an interim target in 2028 and a final target in 2032 — with civil penalties of roughly $0.15–0.35 per kBtu over target for non-compliance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 2300 Steele St
- City
- Denver
- State
- Colorado
- ZIP
- 80205
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
This source publishes no coordinates, so nearby buildings can't be resolved yet.
See also: most efficient in Denver · biggest emitters
How does Tropical Discovery compare with other buildings in Denver?
The latest disclosures cover 3,287 benchmarked buildings in Denver. Its site EUI of 327.9 kBtu/ft² is about 305% above the average of 80.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 47,183 sq ft, it is about 60% below the average floor area of 119,282 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1991, 8 years later than the group's average year built (1983).
How has Tropical Discovery's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 3 Denver disclosures for Tropical Discovery, covering report years 2021–2023. Site EUI moved from 505.4 kBtu/ft² (2021) to 327.9 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 35% decrease. Reported emissions went from 2,004 tCO₂e to 1,076 tCO₂e over the same span (down 46%).
What does a site EUI of 327.9 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. Tropical Discovery's 327.9 kBtu/ft² across 47,183 sq ft works out to about 15.5 billion Btu (4,534 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. The disclosure also reports 730,350 kWh of electricity and 129,772 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Tropical Discovery to report its energy use?
Tropical Discovery reports under the Energize Denver Building Performance Policy, the legal basis of Denver's Energize Denver Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2023 disclosure (source record denver:2790:2023). Energize Denver sets energy-use (EUI) targets for buildings of 25,000+ sq ft — for most buildings an interim target in 2028 and a final target in 2032 — with civil penalties of roughly $0.15–0.35 per kBtu over target for non-compliance.
More zoo buildings in Denver
Frequently asked questions
What is Tropical Discovery's energy grade?
Tropical Discovery did not report an ENERGY STAR score in its 2023 disclosure, but its site energy-use intensity was 327.9 kBtu/ft².
How much energy does Tropical Discovery use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 327.9 kBtu/ft² across 47,183 sq ft, including 730,350 kWh of electricity and 129,772 therms of natural gas.
What are Tropical Discovery's carbon emissions?
Tropical Discovery reported 1,076 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2023.
Where is Tropical Discovery?
Tropical Discovery is at 2300 Steele St, in Denver, Colorado 80205.
How big is Tropical Discovery and when was it built?
Tropical Discovery has 47,183 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1991 as its year built. It is classed as zoo.
Is Tropical Discovery covered by the Energize Denver Building Performance Policy?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 Energize Denver Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Energize Denver Building Performance Policy.
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About this data
Source: Energize Denver Benchmarking (Energize Denver Building Performance Policy), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Tropical Discovery, Denver, Colorado — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/denver/tropical-discovery-d0630a65 (data as of July 9, 2026).