Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
Worship Facility in Washington, DC, DC · 1721 Rhode Island Ave., NW · 20036
At a glance
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is a 68,146-square-foot worship facility at 1721 Rhode Island Ave., NW in Washington, DC, built in 1908. In its 2024 Washington, DC benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 31 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 54.5 kBtu/ft² and 270 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 33% of the 72 scored worship facility buildings in Washington, DC.
Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS · reporting year 2024
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 31 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 54.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 111.2 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 270 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 615,935 kWh |
| Natural gas | 16,150 therms |
| Water use | 358 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 68,146 sq ft |
| Source record | dc:PM4408494:2024 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024latest | 31 | +1 | 54.5 kBtu/ft² | 270 tCO₂e |
| 2023 | 30 | +3 | 55.6 kBtu/ft² | 273 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 27 | +7 | 64.8 kBtu/ft² | 302 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 20 | -14 | 61.3 kBtu/ft² | 296 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 34 | +12 | 50.9 kBtu/ft² | 259 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 22 | +3 | 64.9 kBtu/ft² | 333 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 19 | +5 | 69.8 kBtu/ft² | 358 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 14 | -3 | 62.0 kBtu/ft² | 375 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 17 | +4 | 62.3 kBtu/ft² | 382 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 13 | ±0 | 72.0 kBtu/ft² | 465 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 13 | 70.8 kBtu/ft² | 461 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS
DC's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require buildings below the performance standard to improve over compliance cycles (the first ends December 31, 2026; later cycles run five years), with penalties for buildings that fail to meet their pathway.
Ownership
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON
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Location
- Address
- 1721 Rhode Island Ave., NW
- City
- Washington, DC
- State
- District of Columbia
- ZIP
- 20036
- Coordinates
- 38.90638, -77.04027
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- Main Complexscore 59
Office · 1,872,507 sq ft
- International Squarescore 56
Office · 1,233,833 sq ft
- Midtown Centerscore 91
Office · 911,093 sq ft
- Lafayette Centrescore 74
Office · 908,482 sq ft
- NGS Headquartersscore 68
Office · 746,237 sq ft
- Washington Squarescore 81
Office · 720,712 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Washington, DC · biggest emitters
How does Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle compare with other worship facility buildings in Washington, DC?
The latest disclosures cover 88 worship facility buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's ENERGY STAR score of 31 compares with an average of 43 across the 72 that report a score; it scores higher than 33% of them and lower than 64%. Its site EUI of 54.5 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 51.9 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 4.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 10% above the group average of 3.6 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 68,146 sq ft, it is about 38% above the average floor area of 49,290 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1908, 26 years earlier than the group's average year built (1934). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 1,035 worship facility buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 50 and a site EUI of 47.8 kBtu/ft².
How has Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 11 Washington, DC disclosures for Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, covering report years 2014–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 13 in 2014 to 31 in 2024 (+18 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 34. Site EUI moved from 70.8 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 54.5 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 23% decrease. Reported emissions went from 461 tCO₂e to 270 tCO₂e over the same span (down 41%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 31 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 31 means the building performs better than about 31% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 31 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 44 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Washington, DC, 47% 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. Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's 54.5 kBtu/ft² across 68,146 sq ft works out to about 3.7 billion Btu (1,088 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 111.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 615,935 kWh of electricity, 16,150 therms of natural gas and 358 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle to report its energy use?
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle reports under the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS, the legal basis of Washington, DC's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record dc:PM4408494:2024). DC's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require buildings below the performance standard to improve over compliance cycles (the first ends December 31, 2026; later cycles run five years), with penalties for buildings that fail to meet their pathway.
More worship facility buildings in Washington, DC
- Christian Innovation Center· 65,153 sq ft · score 30 (D)
- National City Christian Church Foundation· 60,706 sq ft · EUI 85.8 kBtu/ft²
- Foundry United Methodist Church· 60,000 sq ft · score 67 (C)
- 19TH St Baptist Church· 60,000 sq ft · score 43 (D)
- Nineteenth Street Baptist Church· 60,000 sq ft · score 36 (D)
- Foundry United Methodist Church· 58,701 sq ft · score 29 (D)
- Worship Facility buildings in Washington, DC· 88 benchmarked
- All Washington, DC benchmarked buildings· Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS
- Most efficient large buildings in Washington, DC
- Least efficient large buildings in Washington, DC
- Biggest emitters in Washington, DC
Frequently asked questions
What is Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's energy grade?
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle scores 31 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2024 Washington, DC disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle use?
Its 2024 site energy-use intensity was 54.5 kBtu/ft² (111.2 kBtu/ft² source) across 68,146 sq ft, including 615,935 kWh of electricity and 16,150 therms of natural gas.
What are Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle's carbon emissions?
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle reported 270 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2024.
Where is Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle?
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is at 1721 Rhode Island Ave., NW, in Washington, DC 20036. Its coordinates are 38.90638, -77.04027 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Building Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and when was it built?
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle has 68,146 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2024 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1908 as its year built. It is classed as worship facility.
Is Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle covered by the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS?
Yes — it appears in the 2024 Building Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS.
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About this data
Source: Building Energy Benchmarking (Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS), as published July 9, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington, DC — 2024 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/washington-dc/cathedral-of-st-matthew-the-apostle-f9603408 (data as of July 9, 2026).