Fred Meyer Ballard

How does Fred Meyer Ballard compare with other retail store buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 68 retail store buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Fred Meyer Ballard's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 73 across the 50 that report a score; it scores higher than 52% of them and lower than 44%. Its site EUI of 84.1 kBtu/ft² is about 83% 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 1.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 16% above the group average of 1.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 164,437 sq ft, it is about 133% above the average floor area of 70,593 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1999, 36 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 Fred Meyer Ballard's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Fred Meyer Ballard, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 61 in 2015 to 87 in 2025 (+26 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 92. Site EUI moved from 105.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 84.1 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 20% decrease. Reported emissions went from 307 tCO₂e to 220 tCO₂e over the same span (down 28%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 87 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 87 means the building performs better than about 87% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 87 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. Fred Meyer Ballard's 84.1 kBtu/ft² across 164,437 sq ft works out to about 13.8 billion Btu (4,053 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 203.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 3,314,549 kWh of electricity and 30,921 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Fred Meyer Ballard to report its energy use?

Fred Meyer Ballard 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:467:2025). 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.