Medical Tower Building
Office in Philadelphia, PA · 255 South 17th Street · 19103
At a glance
Medical Tower Building is a 95,000-square-foot office building at 255 South 17th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1930. In its 2020 Philadelphia benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 68 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 70.9 kBtu/ft² and 561 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 44% of the 180 scored office buildings in Philadelphia.
Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program · reporting year 2020
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 68 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 70.9 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 162.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 561 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 1,400,236 kWh |
| Natural gas | 19,590 therms |
| Water use | 1,861 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 95,000 sq ft |
| Source record | philadelphia:3679494:2020 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020latest | 68 | -6 | 70.9 kBtu/ft² | 561 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 74 | 71.7 kBtu/ft² | 619 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program
Philadelphia requires commercial and multifamily buildings of 50,000+ sq ft to benchmark annually; its Building Energy Performance Program additionally requires non-residential buildings of 50,000+ sq ft to complete a tune-up or certify as high-performance every five years, with fines starting at $2,000 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
- 255 South 17th Street
- City
- Philadelphia
- State
- Pennsylvania
- ZIP
- 19103
- Coordinates
- 39.94815, -75.16924
Within ~1 km
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- Two Liberty Placescore 73
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- 1500 Locustscore 93
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See also: most efficient in Philadelphia · biggest emitters
How does Medical Tower Building compare with other office buildings in Philadelphia?
The latest disclosures cover 212 office buildings in Philadelphia, out of 2,379 buildings citywide. Medical Tower Building's ENERGY STAR score of 68 compares with an average of 64 across the 180 that report a score; it scores higher than 44% of them and lower than 53%. Its site EUI of 70.9 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 78.3 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 95,000 sq ft, it is about 67% below the average floor area of 292,223 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1930, 27 years earlier than the group's average year built (1957). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².
How has Medical Tower Building's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 2 Philadelphia disclosures for Medical Tower Building, covering report years 2019–2020. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 74 in 2019 to 68 in 2020 (-6 points); its best year on file was 2019, at 74. Site EUI moved from 71.7 kBtu/ft² (2019) to 70.9 kBtu/ft² (2020), a 1% decrease. Reported emissions went from 619 tCO₂e to 561 tCO₂e over the same span (down 9%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 68 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 68 means the building performs better than about 68% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 68 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 7 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Philadelphia, 35% 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. Medical Tower Building's 70.9 kBtu/ft² across 95,000 sq ft works out to about 6.7 billion Btu (1,974 MWh-equivalent) in 2020. Its source EUI of 162.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,400,236 kWh of electricity, 19,590 therms of natural gas and 1,861 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Medical Tower Building to report its energy use?
Medical Tower Building reports under Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program, the legal basis of Philadelphia's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2020 disclosure (source record philadelphia:3679494:2020). Philadelphia requires commercial and multifamily buildings of 50,000+ sq ft to benchmark annually; its Building Energy Performance Program additionally requires non-residential buildings of 50,000+ sq ft to complete a tune-up or certify as high-performance every five years, with fines starting at $2,000 for non-compliance.
More office buildings in Philadelphia
- 3000 Market Street· 90,999 sq ft · EUI 34.0 kBtu/ft²
- PeiGenesis· 90,000 sq ft · EUI 99.7 kBtu/ft²
- 1 Crescent Drive· 82,240 sq ft · score 82 (B)
- Steamfitter Union 420· 80,000 sq ft · score 68 (C)
- 1701 W Lehigh· 76,500 sq ft · EUI 24.8 kBtu/ft²
- American Red Cross - Humanitarian Services· 75,495 sq ft · score 60 (C)
- Office buildings in Philadelphia· 212 benchmarked
- All Philadelphia benchmarked buildings· Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program
- Most efficient large buildings in Philadelphia
- Least efficient large buildings in Philadelphia
- Biggest emitters in Philadelphia
Frequently asked questions
What is Medical Tower Building's energy grade?
Medical Tower Building scores 68 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band C, below median (55–69) — in its 2020 Philadelphia disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Medical Tower Building use?
Its 2020 site energy-use intensity was 70.9 kBtu/ft² (162.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 95,000 sq ft, including 1,400,236 kWh of electricity and 19,590 therms of natural gas.
What are Medical Tower Building's carbon emissions?
Medical Tower Building reported 561 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2020.
Where is Medical Tower Building?
Medical Tower Building is at 255 South 17th Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Its coordinates are 39.94815, -75.16924 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Medical Tower Building and when was it built?
Medical Tower Building has 95,000 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2020 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1930 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Medical Tower Building covered by Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program?
Yes — it appears in the 2020 Building Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program.
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking (Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Medical Tower Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — 2020 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/philadelphia/medical-tower-building-25b7076c (data as of July 9, 2026).