Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza

How does Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza compare with other office buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 497 office buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza's ENERGY STAR score of 90 compares with an average of 76 across the 378 that report a score; it scores higher than 70% of them and lower than 27%. Its site EUI of 27.2 kBtu/ft² is about 39% below the average of 44.8 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 77% below the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 1,249,055 sq ft, it is about 536% above the average floor area of 196,452 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1981, 16 years later than the group's average year built (1965). 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 Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 93 in 2015 to 90 in 2025 (-3 points); its best year on file was 2016, at 95. Site EUI moved from 42.0 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 27.2 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 35% decrease. Reported emissions went from 231 tCO₂e to 160 tCO₂e over the same span (down 31%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 90 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 90 means the building performs better than about 90% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 90 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 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. Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza's 27.2 kBtu/ft² across 1,249,055 sq ft works out to about 34 billion Btu (9,957 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 76.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 8,080,356 kWh of electricity and 200 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Bank Of America Fifth Avenue Plaza to report its energy use?

Bank Of America Fifth Avenue 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:772:2025). 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.