Founders Hall
Residence Hall/Dormitory in New York City, NY · 120 East 12 Street · 10003
At a glance
Founders Hall is a 189,845-square-foot residence hall/dormitory at 120 East 12 Street in New York City, New York, built in 2009. In its 2024 New York City benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 79 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 51.3 kBtu/ft² and 857 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 54% of the 177 scored residence hall/dormitory buildings in New York City.
Local Law 84 (LL84) · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 79 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 51.3 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 104.3 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 857 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.5 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 1,603,960 kWh |
| Natural gas | 42,703 therms |
| Water use | 5,519 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 189,845 sq ft |
| Source record | nyc:2706312:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 79 | -1 | 51.3 kBtu/ft² | 857 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 80 | ±0 | 50.0 kBtu/ft² | 793 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 80 | 56.1 kBtu/ft² | 737 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Local Law 84 (LL84)
Under Local Law 97, buildings over 25,000 sq ft face carbon caps with fines of $268 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit, phasing in from 2024.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 120 East 12 Street
- City
- New York City
- State
- New York
- ZIP
- 10003
- Coordinates
- 40.73242, -73.98926
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in New York City · biggest emitters
How does Founders Hall compare with other residence hall/dormitory buildings in New York City?
The latest disclosures cover 343 residence hall/dormitory buildings in New York City, out of 48,310 buildings citywide. Founders Hall's ENERGY STAR score of 79 compares with an average of 69 across the 177 that report a score; it scores higher than 54% of them and lower than 44%. Its site EUI of 51.3 kBtu/ft² is about 36% below the average of 79.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 4.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 18% below the group average of 5.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 189,845 sq ft, it is about 122% above the average floor area of 85,583 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2009, 63 years later than the group's average year built (1947). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 702 residence hall/dormitory buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 70.7 kBtu/ft².
How has Founders Hall's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 3 New York City disclosures for Founders Hall, covering report years 2022–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 80 in 2022 to 79 in 2024 (-1 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 80. Site EUI moved from 56.1 kBtu/ft² (2022) to 51.3 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 9% decrease. Reported emissions went from 737 tCO₂e to 857 tCO₂e over the same span (up 16%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 79 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 79 means the building performs better than about 79% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 79 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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 New York City, 43% 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. Founders Hall's 51.3 kBtu/ft² across 189,845 sq ft works out to about 9.7 billion Btu (2,854 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 104.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,603,960 kWh of electricity, 42,703 therms of natural gas and 5,519 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Founders Hall to report its energy use?
Founders Hall reports under Local Law 84 (LL84), the legal basis of New York City's Energy and Water Data Disclosure program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record nyc:2706312:2024). Under Local Law 97, buildings over 25,000 sq ft face carbon caps with fines of $268 per metric ton of CO₂e over the limit, phasing in from 2024.
More residence hall/dormitory buildings in New York City
- RH. O'Hare Hall· 184,294 sq ft
- RH. Campbell and Salice-Conley Halls· 182,600 sq ft
- 401 West 130th Street· 182,581 sq ft · score 54 (D)
- Lipton Hall· 180,516 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- RAC ICC Jamaica 86-45 87 Dr· 174,835 sq ft · EUI 19.5 kBtu/ft²
- 50 Haven Ave· 174,349 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- Residence Hall/Dormitory buildings in New York City· 343 benchmarked
- All New York City benchmarked buildings· Local Law 84 (LL84)
- Most efficient large buildings in New York City
- Least efficient large buildings in New York City
- Biggest emitters in New York City
Frequently asked questions
What is Founders Hall's energy grade?
Founders Hall scores 79 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2024 New York City disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Founders Hall use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 51.3 kBtu/ft² (104.3 kBtu/ft² source) across 189,845 sq ft, including 1,603,960 kWh of electricity and 42,703 therms of natural gas.
What are Founders Hall's carbon emissions?
Founders Hall reported 857 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.5 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2024.
Where is Founders Hall?
Founders Hall is at 120 East 12 Street, in New York City, New York 10003. Its coordinates are 40.73242, -73.98926 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Energy and Water Data Disclosure file.
How big is Founders Hall and when was it built?
Founders Hall has 189,845 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2009 as its year built. It is classed as residence hall/dormitory.
Is Founders Hall covered by Local Law 84 (LL84)?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Energy and Water Data Disclosure disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under Local Law 84 (LL84).
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About this data
Source: Energy and Water Data Disclosure (Local Law 84 (LL84)), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Founders Hall, New York City, New York — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/new-york-city/founders-hall-976a97ec (data as of October 2, 2026).