Airport Way South

How does Airport Way South compare with other retail store buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 68 retail store buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Airport Way South's ENERGY STAR score of 39 compares with an average of 73 across the 50 that report a score; it scores higher than 16% of them and lower than 82%. Its site EUI of 63.8 kBtu/ft² is about 39% above the average of 45.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 125% above the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 56,572 sq ft, it is about 20% below the average floor area of 70,593 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1973, 10 years later than the group's average year built (1963). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,025 retail store buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 57.7 kBtu/ft².

How has Airport Way South's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Airport Way South, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 70 in 2015 to 39 in 2025 (-31 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 80. Site EUI moved from 38.6 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 63.8 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 65% increase. Reported emissions went from 60 tCO₂e to 140 tCO₂e over the same span (up 135%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 39 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 39 means the building performs better than about 39% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 39 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 36 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. Airport Way South's 63.8 kBtu/ft² across 56,572 sq ft works out to about 3.6 billion Btu (1,058 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 98.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 294,613 kWh of electricity and 26,036 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Airport Way South to report its energy use?

Airport Way South 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:654:2025). 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.