Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza)

How does Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza) compare with other retail store buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 68 retail store buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza)'s ENERGY STAR score of 59 compares with an average of 73 across the 50 that report a score; it scores higher than 26% of them and lower than 72%. Its site EUI of 126.0 kBtu/ft² is about 175% 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 3.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 211% above the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 114,000 sq ft, it is about 61% above the average floor area of 70,593 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1967, 4 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 Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza)'s energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza), covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 96 in 2015 to 59 in 2025 (-37 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 96. Site EUI moved from 100.9 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 126.0 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 25% increase. Reported emissions went from 317 tCO₂e to 395 tCO₂e over the same span (up 24%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 59 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 59 means the building performs better than about 59% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 59 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 16 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. Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza)'s 126.0 kBtu/ft² across 114,000 sq ft works out to about 14.4 billion Btu (4,210 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 253.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,340,114 kWh of electricity and 65,784 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza) to report its energy use?

Aurora Acres (Retail Plaza) 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:518:2025). 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.