Cottage Grove Commons

How does Cottage Grove Commons compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 1,971 multifamily housing buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Cottage Grove Commons's ENERGY STAR score of 20 compares with an average of 83 across the 1,652 that report a score; it scores higher than 1% of them and lower than 98%. Its site EUI of 77.9 kBtu/ft² is about 123% above the average of 34.9 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 2.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 223% above the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 27,950 sq ft, it is about 68% below the average floor area of 86,468 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2013, 30 years later than the group's average year built (1983). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².

How has Cottage Grove Commons's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Cottage Grove Commons, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 49 in 2015 to 20 in 2025 (-29 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 49. Site EUI moved from 75.2 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 77.9 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 4% increase. Reported emissions went from 65 tCO₂e to 88 tCO₂e over the same span (up 36%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 20 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 20 means the building performs better than about 20% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 20 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 55 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. Cottage Grove Commons's 77.9 kBtu/ft² across 27,950 sq ft works out to about 2.2 billion Btu (638 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 150.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 446,097 kWh of electricity and 15,158 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Cottage Grove Commons to report its energy use?

Cottage Grove Commons 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:49736:2025). 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.