6th & Holgate Building

How does 6th & Holgate Building compare with other non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 164 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. 6th & Holgate Building's ENERGY STAR score of 5 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 3% of them and lower than 95%. Its site EUI of 56.3 kBtu/ft² is about 85% above the average of 30.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 149,881 sq ft, it is about 155% above the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1951, 9 years earlier than the group's average year built (1960). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 4,723 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 66 and a site EUI of 26.0 kBtu/ft².

How has 6th & Holgate Building's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for 6th & Holgate Building, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 89 in 2015 to 5 in 2025 (-84 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 99. Site EUI moved from 18.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 56.3 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 206% increase. Reported emissions went from 80 tCO₂e to 125 tCO₂e over the same span (up 56%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 5 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 5 means the building performs better than about 5% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 5 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 70 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Seattle, 69% 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. 6th & Holgate Building's 56.3 kBtu/ft² across 149,881 sq ft works out to about 8.4 billion Btu (2,473 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 137.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,968,195 kWh of electricity and 17,194 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires 6th & Holgate Building to report its energy use?

6th & Holgate Building reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:720:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.