At a glance
Rio Vista Tower is a 190,261-square-foot office building at 8880 Rio San Diego Drive in San Diego, California, built in 1988. In its 2022 San Diego benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 85 out of 100 (grade A) and a site energy-use intensity of 48.1 kBtu/ft². That score is higher than 53% of the 259 scored office buildings in San Diego.
Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12) · reporting year 2022
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 85 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 48.1 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | — |
| GHG emissions | — |
| GHG intensity | — |
| Gross floor area | 190,261 sq ft |
| Source record | san_diego:101294:2022 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022latest | 85 | +3 | 48.1 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2021 | 82 | 47.8 kBtu/ft² | — |
Compliance context
Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12)
San Diego's ordinance requires annual benchmarking for commercial buildings over 50,000 sq ft, with civil penalties for buildings that fail to report.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 8880 Rio San Diego Drive
- City
- San Diego
- State
- California
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
This source publishes no coordinates, so nearby buildings can't be resolved yet.
See also: most efficient in San Diego · biggest emitters
How does Rio Vista Tower compare with other office buildings in San Diego?
The latest disclosures cover 356 office buildings in San Diego, out of 2,567 buildings citywide. Rio Vista Tower's ENERGY STAR score of 85 compares with an average of 75 across the 259 that report a score; it scores higher than 53% of them and lower than 45%. Its site EUI of 48.1 kBtu/ft² is about 12% below the average of 54.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group.
At 190,261 sq ft, it is about 45% above the average floor area of 130,949 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1988 construction date is close to the group's average year built (1991). 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 Rio Vista Tower's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 2 San Diego disclosures for Rio Vista Tower, covering report years 2021–2022. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 82 in 2021 to 85 in 2022 (+3 points). Site EUI moved from 47.8 kBtu/ft² (2021) to 48.1 kBtu/ft² (2022), an 1% increase.
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 85 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 85 means the building performs better than about 85% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 85 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). 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 San Diego, 73% 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. Rio Vista Tower's 48.1 kBtu/ft² across 190,261 sq ft works out to about 9.2 billion Btu (2,682 MWh-equivalent) in 2022.
Which law requires Rio Vista Tower to report its energy use?
Rio Vista Tower reports under the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12), the legal basis of San Diego's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2022 disclosure (source record san_diego:101294:2022). San Diego's ordinance requires annual benchmarking for commercial buildings over 50,000 sq ft, with civil penalties for buildings that fail to report.
More office buildings in San Diego
- Port of San Diego Admin Campus· 190,000 sq ft · EUI 43.5 kBtu/ft²
- The ESET Building· 189,243 sq ft · score 89 (A)
- UTC02 - University Town Ctr 2· 187,047 sq ft · score 77 (B)
- Wateridge Property Owner LP· 183,565 sq ft · EUI 132.3 kBtu/ft²
- La Jolla Center I· 182,290 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- Del Mar Gateway· 172,563 sq ft · score 89 (A)
- Office buildings in San Diego· 356 benchmarked
- All San Diego benchmarked buildings· Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12)
- Most efficient large buildings in San Diego
- Least efficient large buildings in San Diego
- Biggest emitters in San Diego
Frequently asked questions
What is Rio Vista Tower's energy grade?
Rio Vista Tower scores 85 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2022 San Diego disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Rio Vista Tower use?
Its 2022 site energy-use intensity was 48.1 kBtu/ft² across 190,261 sq ft.
What are Rio Vista Tower's carbon emissions?
No greenhouse-gas emissions figure was reported for 2022.
Where is Rio Vista Tower?
Rio Vista Tower is at 8880 Rio San Diego Drive, in San Diego, California.
How big is Rio Vista Tower and when was it built?
Rio Vista Tower has 190,261 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2022 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1988 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Rio Vista Tower covered by the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12)?
Yes — it appears in the 2022 Building Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12).
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking (Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SDMC Ch. 14 Art. 12)), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Rio Vista Tower, San Diego, California — 2022 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/san-diego/rio-vista-tower-9a6d9857 (data as of July 9, 2026).