Watermark Tower

How does Watermark Tower 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. Watermark Tower's ENERGY STAR score of 74 compares with an average of 83 across the 1,652 that report a score; it scores higher than 22% of them and lower than 77%. Its site EUI of 42.6 kBtu/ft² is about 22% 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 195,788 sq ft, it is about 126% above the average floor area of 86,468 sq ft for those buildings. Its 1983 construction date is close to 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 Watermark Tower's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Watermark Tower, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 60 in 2015 to 74 in 2025 (+14 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 86. Site EUI moved from 41.9 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 42.6 kBtu/ft² (2025), an 2% increase. Reported emissions went from 41 tCO₂e to 138 tCO₂e over the same span (up 234%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 74 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 74 means the building performs better than about 74% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 74 falls in band B — above median (70–84). It sits 1 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. Watermark Tower's 42.6 kBtu/ft² across 195,788 sq ft works out to about 8.3 billion Btu (2,444 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 100.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,742,742 kWh of electricity and 20,012 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Watermark Tower to report its energy use?

Watermark Tower 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:26159:2025). 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.