The Rittenhouse Plaza
Multifamily Housing in Philadelphia, PA · 1901 Walnut Street · 19103
At a glance
The Rittenhouse Plaza is a 279,109-square-foot multifamily housing building at 1901 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1924. In its 2021 Philadelphia benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 31 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 72.3 kBtu/ft² and 1,501 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 24% of the 682 scored multifamily housing buildings in Philadelphia.
Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program · reporting year 2021
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 31 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 72.3 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 122.4 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 1,501 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Electricity | 1,820,046 kWh |
| Natural gas | 1,771 therms |
| Water use | 7,085 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 279,109 sq ft |
| Source record | philadelphia:4979799:2021 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021latest | 31 | -1 | 72.3 kBtu/ft² | 1,501 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 32 | +1 | 72.1 kBtu/ft² | 1,491 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 31 | 74.9 kBtu/ft² | 1,606 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
- 1901 Walnut Street
- City
- Philadelphia
- State
- Pennsylvania
- ZIP
- 19103
- Coordinates
- 39.95066, -75.17254
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Philadelphia · biggest emitters
How does The Rittenhouse Plaza compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Philadelphia?
The latest disclosures cover 768 multifamily housing buildings in Philadelphia, out of 2,379 buildings citywide. The Rittenhouse Plaza's ENERGY STAR score of 31 compares with an average of 59 across the 682 that report a score; it scores higher than 24% of them and lower than 76%. Its site EUI of 72.3 kBtu/ft² is about 30% above the average of 55.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 279,109 sq ft, it is about 122% above the average floor area of 125,469 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1924, 47 years earlier than the group's average year built (1971). 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 The Rittenhouse Plaza's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 3 Philadelphia disclosures for The Rittenhouse Plaza, covering report years 2019–2021. Its ENERGY STAR score was 31 in both 2019 and 2021. Site EUI moved from 74.9 kBtu/ft² (2019) to 72.3 kBtu/ft² (2021), a 3% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,606 tCO₂e to 1,501 tCO₂e over the same span (down 6%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 31 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 31 means the building performs better than about 31% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 31 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 44 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. The Rittenhouse Plaza's 72.3 kBtu/ft² across 279,109 sq ft works out to about 20.2 billion Btu (5,914 MWh-equivalent) in 2021. Its source EUI of 122.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,820,046 kWh of electricity, 1,771 therms of natural gas and 7,085 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires The Rittenhouse Plaza to report its energy use?
The Rittenhouse Plaza 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 2021 disclosure (source record philadelphia:4979799:2021). 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 multifamily housing buildings in Philadelphia
- Icon 1616· 274,265 sq ft · EUI 39.2 kBtu/ft²
- The Fairmount at Brewerytown· 272,255 sq ft · score 65 (C)
- The Granary· 270,880 sq ft · score 70 (B)
- CMH Development LP· 268,565 sq ft · score 27 (D)
- Madison Avenue A LLC· 265,344 sq ft · score 1 (D)
- The Lofts @ 1835 Arch· 254,000 sq ft · score 34 (D)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in Philadelphia· 768 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 The Rittenhouse Plaza's energy grade?
The Rittenhouse Plaza scores 31 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2021 Philadelphia disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does The Rittenhouse Plaza use?
Its 2021 site energy-use intensity was 72.3 kBtu/ft² (122.4 kBtu/ft² source) across 279,109 sq ft, including 1,820,046 kWh of electricity and 1,771 therms of natural gas.
What are The Rittenhouse Plaza's carbon emissions?
The Rittenhouse Plaza reported 1,501 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions for 2021.
Where is The Rittenhouse Plaza?
The Rittenhouse Plaza is at 1901 Walnut Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Its coordinates are 39.95066, -75.17254 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is The Rittenhouse Plaza and when was it built?
The Rittenhouse Plaza has 279,109 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2021 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1924 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is The Rittenhouse Plaza covered by Phila. Code §9-3402 / Building Energy Performance Program?
Yes — it appears in the 2021 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, “The Rittenhouse Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — 2021 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/philadelphia/the-rittenhouse-plaza-906b9a5b (data as of July 9, 2026).