Thaw Building

How does Thaw Building compare with other mixed use property buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 157 mixed use property buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Thaw Building's ENERGY STAR score of 35 compares with an average of 74 across the 29 that report a score; it scores higher than 10% of them and lower than 86%. Its site EUI of 61.0 kBtu/ft² is about 11% below the average of 68.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 1.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 37% above the group average of 1.4 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 91,360 sq ft, it is about 45% below the average floor area of 165,352 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1970 construction date is close to the group's average year built (1968). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,212 mixed use property buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 69 and a site EUI of 79.8 kBtu/ft².

How has Thaw Building's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Thaw Building, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 11 in 2015 to 35 in 2025 (+24 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 52. Site EUI moved from 71.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 61.0 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 14% decrease. Reported emissions went from 139 tCO₂e to 171 tCO₂e over the same span (up 23%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 35 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 35 means the building performs better than about 35% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 35 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 40 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. Thaw Building's 61.0 kBtu/ft² across 91,360 sq ft works out to about 5.6 billion Btu (1,633 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 111.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 701,395 kWh of electricity and 30,411 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Thaw Building to report its energy use?

Thaw Building 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:391:2025). 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.