The Foundry

How does The Foundry compare with other non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 164 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. The Foundry's ENERGY STAR score of 51 compares with an average of 58 across the 117 that report a score; it scores higher than 34% of them and lower than 64%. Its site EUI of 19.0 kBtu/ft² is about 38% below the average of 30.5 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 88% below the group average of 0.9 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 31,360 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 58,727 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1946, 14 years earlier than the group's average year built (1960). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 4,723 non-refrigerated warehouse buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 66 and a site EUI of 26.0 kBtu/ft².

How has The Foundry's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for The Foundry, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 40 in 2017 to 51 in 2025 (+11 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 63. Site EUI moved from 46.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 19.0 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 59% decrease. Reported emissions went from 36 tCO₂e to 3 tCO₂e over the same span (down 90%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 51 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 51 means the building performs better than about 51% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 51 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 24 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. The Foundry's 19.0 kBtu/ft² across 31,360 sq ft works out to about 0.6 billion Btu (175 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 53.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 174,671 kWh of electricity for the year.

Which law requires The Foundry to report its energy use?

The Foundry 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:26236:2025). 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.