Spruce West Seattle

How does Spruce West Seattle 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. Spruce West Seattle's ENERGY STAR score of 61 compares with an average of 83 across the 1,652 that report a score; it scores higher than 13% of them and lower than 87%. Its site EUI of 48.5 kBtu/ft² is about 39% 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 1.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 37% above the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 409,825 sq ft, it is about 374% above the average floor area of 86,468 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2015, 32 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 Spruce West Seattle's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 10 Seattle disclosures for Spruce West Seattle, covering report years 2016–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 73 in 2016 to 61 in 2025 (-12 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 100. Site EUI moved from 43.3 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 48.5 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 12% increase. Reported emissions went from 213 tCO₂e to 210 tCO₂e over the same span (down 2%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 61 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 61 means the building performs better than about 61% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 61 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 14 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. Spruce West Seattle's 48.5 kBtu/ft² across 409,825 sq ft works out to about 19.9 billion Btu (5,825 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 110.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 2,187,218 kWh of electricity and 31,662 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Spruce West Seattle to report its energy use?

Spruce West Seattle 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:50073:2025). 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.