Greenlake Plaza Apts

How does Greenlake Plaza Apts 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. Greenlake Plaza Apts's ENERGY STAR score of 43 compares with an average of 83 across the 1,652 that report a score; it scores higher than 6% of them and lower than 94%. Its site EUI of 49.3 kBtu/ft² is about 41% 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 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 94,410 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 86,468 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1969, 14 years earlier 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 Greenlake Plaza Apts's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Greenlake Plaza Apts, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 33 in 2015 to 43 in 2025 (+10 points); its best year on file was 2023, at 43. Site EUI moved from 49.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 49.3 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 0% decrease. Reported emissions went from 73 tCO₂e to 65 tCO₂e over the same span (down 12%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 43 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 43 means the building performs better than about 43% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 43 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 32 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. Greenlake Plaza Apts's 49.3 kBtu/ft² across 94,410 sq ft works out to about 4.7 billion Btu (1,364 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 122.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,119,452 kWh of electricity and 8,329 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Greenlake Plaza Apts to report its energy use?

Greenlake Plaza Apts 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:26574:2025). 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.