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Seattle’s Downtown Activation Plan Envisions a Greener, More Resilient City Center

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The landscape of Downtown, with breathtaking views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, is a beautiful reminder of the Emerald City’s connection to nature, and the commitment we have to protecting it for all to enjoy. As we work to bring people and vibrancy back Downtown, Seattle will continue to lead in climate action by centering climate justice and addressing climate change with urgency. 

Last Wednesday, Mayor Harrell announced the launch of the Downtown Activation Plan, which lays out bold goals and actions to stabilize and transform Downtown into a place where residents, workers, and visitors want to spend time. The plan outlines seven goals, one being to create a healthy, resilient, and green Downtown – a collection of the neighborhoods of Belltown, Chinatown-International District, the Commercial Core, Denny Triangle, Pioneer Square, and Stadium District.

Groups of people biking through a Downtown urban forest on a dedicated bike lane, as a streetcar passes by and pedestrians walk. Buildings shine in the sunlight in the background.
Olson Kundig curated images created by third-party AI programs for the Downtown Activation Plan. Images are not actual project images and are strictly for illustrative purposes. 

The resilience and climate justice aspects of the plan focus on improving Downtown’s air quality, addressing climate impacts in the Downtown neighborhoods, and building a resilient, fossil fuel-free city. The plan’s climate goals are aligned with our values of Mayor Harrell’s Climate Justice Agenda, furthering our commitment to support Seattleites most impacted by climate change by building community resilience, creating new clean energy jobs, and ensuring a just transition to an equitable, clean energy economy.

Left: “Downtown is you” logo on bright yellow background. White text says “Downtown is you” and is placed inside rectangular shapes. City of Seattle logo is at the bottom of the graphic. Right: Picture of a child taking a picture wearing a blue shirt on a navy background. The “Downtown is me” logo is in various shades of blue. City of Seattle logo is at the bottom of the graphic.

To achieve the goals of celebrating Seattle’s connection to nature and addressing the urgency of global climate challenges, the City pledges the following actions:

  1. Pilot a green and healthy street by closing Pike Street between First and Second Avenues for pedestrians only. The new street will feature activations, music buskers, café-like seating areas for people-watching, and popup vendors. Accommodations for delivering goods and supplies to adjacent businesses will be allowed during certain times of the day to mitigate disruptions.
  2. Reopen City Hall Park with activations throughout the summer to help keep the park vibrant, including concerts, food trucks, fitness classes, art programs, movie and sports viewing, and a satellite farmers market.
  3. Finish improvements to Downtown parks happening now and extending throughout 2023, at Bell Street Park, Tilikum Place Park, and Freeway Park. Upgrades include new electrical and lighting systems, utilities, and stormwater infrastructure.
  4. To create new community green spaces and areas designed for families and young children, open the remaining parts of the new Waterfront Park in 2025, including Pier 58 with its public plaza and free programming by the Friends of the Waterfront. Open Habitat Beach at the Waterfront for a pilot period this summer before opening permanently in 2024.
  5. Explore the future use of Pier 48 as new open green space. Pier 48 is a 4.5+ acre pier south of the Coleman Dock ferry terminal owned by the State.
  6. Continue to explore the lidding of I-5 to create park spaces and pedestrian connections from Capitol Hill to Downtown. The City has received grant funding for this feasibility analysis. Successful examples of highway lidding can be seen in Dallas at Klyde Warren Park.
  7. Pilot low-pollution neighborhoods Downtown by establishing low-emission delivery opportunities. These include delivery hubs, e-cargo bike delivery, infrastructure to support electric food trucks and street vending, electrification of our transportation system, incentives for the electrification of small business vehicles, and other policies, programs, and projects that support reducing harmful pollution for residents and workers. Seattle was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to pilot three low-emissions neighborhoods.
  8. Implement the Building Emissions Performance Standards Policy (BEPS). Relevant to existing nonresidential and multifamily buildings greater than 20,000 square feet, the Building Emissions Performance Standard Policy (BEPS) is expected to reduce annual building greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 325,000 metric tons by 2050 ― a 27% decrease from a 2008 baseline. The reduction in emissions is the equivalent of taking 72,322 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.

The plan also includes visionary ideas for the future of Downtown. One idea is imagining an urban forest that meets Seattle’s goal to achieve 30 percent equitably distributed citywide canopy cover by 2037.

The City’s 2021 Tree Canopy Assessment revealed that we are slowly losing ground in our tree canopy. The report also found that neighborhoods impacted by racial and economic injustice had less canopy coverage to begin with and lost more coverage between 2016-2021 than the citywide average. Tree canopy cover is important for protecting Seattle from climate impacts.

Large group of people walk under the urban forest canopy in the future Downtown of Seattle.
Olson Kundig curated images created by third-party AI programs for the Downtown Activation Plan. Images are not actual project images and are strictly for illustrative purposes. 

Maximizing trees and greenery in the middle of the city could transform it into an urban forest, further connecting the built environment with nature and preparing Downtown to be more resilient against the impacts of climate change. When we prioritize people and climate justice, the opportunities are endless.

Learn more about Mayor Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan at DowntownIsYou.com.

Mayor Harrell Introduces New Building Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS) to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions 27% from Existing Buildings 

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Policy continues Seattle’s decades-long legacy of national climate leadership and innovation to meet the urgency and scale of the climate crisis  

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell speaking at the BEPS event at Kerry Park in Seattle

Seattle – Mayor Bruce Harrell today announced a bold new proposal to reduce emissions for existing large buildings. Applying to existing nonresidential and multifamily buildings greater than 20,000 square feet, the Building Emissions Performance Standard Policy (BEPS) is expected to reduce annual building greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 325,000 metric tons by 2050 – a 27% decrease from a 2008 baseline. The reduction in emissions is the equivalent of taking 72,322 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.  

“Buildings are one of our largest sources of pollution and must be part of the solution to the climate crisis,” said Mayor Harrell. “This legislation is among the most impactful proposals we can advance to reduce emissions. It will help Seattle decrease energy use and pollution, create new green jobs, and build more resilient communities for extreme heat and smoke events. This proposal was built thoughtfully in collaboration with environmental leaders and activists, climate scientists, workers, building owners, and community members – a wide and diverse array of Seattle neighbors committed to urgent, meaningful action to create clean buildings, a healthy climate, and a sustainable city for generations to come.” 

BEPS compliance starts with reporting requirements by 2027 that quantify building emissions and encourage owners to prepare for emissions reductions, followed by requirements to meet emissions targets in five-year intervals starting in 2031. The BEPS policy has flexible compliance pathways to accommodate buildings of many uses, size, type, ownership, age, and systems. 

  • Path A: Meet standard or portfolio emissions targets at each 5-year interval. Building owners must verify their emissions and meet 5-year targets to be net-zero by 2050.  
  • Path B: Minor modifications to standard targets. Building owners may receive extensions or exemptions, the ability to deduct emissions from certain end uses or make a compliance payment for the first interval.  
  • Path C: Special consideration and flexibility due to unique circumstances. Building owners must create a detailed Decarbonization Compliance Plan that outlines their path to net-zero.   

“This policy is a critical step forward for addressing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and builds upon decades of Seattle leadership in addressing climate pollution. We heard, loud and clear, from the hundreds of meetings and comments we received that Seattleites want to see action on climate,” said Jessyn Farrell, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment. “We are committed to a collaborative and equitable approach that balances the needs and requests of building owners, especially those providing affordable housing, but also recognize we must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately. The BEPS policy offers multiple pathways for building owners to comply without sacrificing our urgent work to reduce emissions and advance climate justice.” 

OSE Director Jessyn Farrell speaking at the BEPS event at Kerry Park in Seattle

The BEPS policy will apply to approximately 1,650 nonresidential buildings, largely downtown and in dense neighborhoods, including high and mid-rise offices, hotels, schools, large warehouses, and retail, and about 1,885 multifamily buildings (typically those with about 20 units or more). About 600 large buildings on campuses like colleges or hospitals are also covered.  

“Our larger buildings have the greatest emissions impact per building and will be one of the biggest bites we can take out of emissions from the buildings sector,” said Sandra Mallory, Buildings & Energy Manager at the Office of Sustainability & Environment. “This policy has been several years in the making, and we are excited to put forth this proposal that will cut emissions while maximizing benefits to building owners and tenants and ensuring equitable pathways to high-quality green jobs, especially for people of color and women.” 

The City of Seattle received input from hundreds of people during the process of developing the legislation, including residents, workers, community-based organizations, nonprofits, building owners and managers, tenants, labor representatives, environmental justice groups, affordable housing providers, and more, over nearly two years of meetings, open houses, webinars, advisory group and specialized task force sessions.  

In addition to this policy proposal, as part of Mayor Harrell’s commitment to clean buildings and healthy air, the City of Seattle is also helping residential homes transition away from heating oil, which is the most polluting form of home heating in Seattle. The City recently reached a milestone of providing more than 1,000 rebates and no-cost upgrades to help low-to-middle income families switch to energy-efficient heat pumps that are powered by clean electricity and that also provide air-conditioning. 

Because of these efforts to accelerate heat pump transitions, the City estimates that by 2030 there will be no remaining homes in Seattle heated with oil. Heating oil represents about 8% of total emissions in the buildings sector. Additionally, the Seattle Energy Code ensures that new buildings are constructed efficiently from the start. The Energy Code is updated every three years. In 2021, updates and amendments were signed into law to make Seattle’s 2018 commercial energy code one of the strongest on climate in the nation.   

The BEPS policy development was supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge where Seattle joined 25+ cities across the nation in working to advance policies to reduce emissions in the buildings and transportation sectors. From 2019-2021, Seattle received technical analysis, workforce consulting, stakeholder outreach assistance, and capacity building support. 

For more information about the proposed BEPS policy, see the Office of Sustainability’s 4-page guide to the proposed policy and the full BEPS legislation at www.seattle.gov/building-performance-standards.  

What People Are Saying: 

“Buildings are currently the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington, and burning fossil fuels inside our homes and buildings pollutes our indoor air and harms public health. Following successes across the state to ensure new buildings are built clean, Seattle’s new Building Emissions Performance Standard will ensure Seattle’s existing buildings transition to being fully powered by clean energy over the next few decades. By shifting homes and buildings off fossil fuels, this policy will help put Seattle on track to meeting its climate targets while also protecting the health of our communities, reducing air pollution, and increasing the use of heat pumps that provide both heating and air conditioning.”  

Kelly Hall, Washington State Director, Climate Solutions 

“Affordable housing is critical, as is solving our ever-growing climate crisis. Today, through Mayor Harrell’s leadership, we will start making meaningful reductions in the climate pollution that, sadly, impacts our most vulnerable communities in Seattle first and worst. We will, at the same time, ensure that we are creating more resilient housing for Seattle’s residents far into the future. This is one of those rare moments when we can celebrate a giant policy leap forward that addresses the intersecting crises of affordable housing, racial equity, and climate change. I am proud of the work we did together to ensure that the Building Emissions Performance Standard works for affordable housing providers and the broader ecosystem.”  

Patience Malaba, Executive Director, Housing Development Consortium 

“Climate change has reached Seattle in the form of wildfire smoke and heatwaves, and this policy is part of the solution. Mayor Harrell’s Building Performance Standards policy is forecasted to create thousands of jobs over its lifespan, which will benefit Seattle-area workers and expand career pathways for women and workers of color.”  

 Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, MLK Labor (AFL-CIO) 

“Buildings must be part of the climate solution and Seattle’s Building Emissions Performance Standards is a key strategy, guiding the city’s largest buildings on a path to clean, efficient electric systems as they upgrade over the coming years. The resulting clean energy retrofits will make a difference in day-to-day lives, by expanding access to heat pumps for cooling in the face of heat events and wildfire smoke that are now familiar in our region.”  

Rachel Koller, Managing Director, Shift Zero 

“This proposed Building Performance Standard is vital to helping Seattle achieve its climate, clean energy, and economic goals. Building retrofits require planning and investment, and this proposal provides both. Large commercial and multifamily building owners will be able to access funding and incentives for clean energy retrofits from the Federal Inflation Reduction Act, and state and local programs to decarbonize their buildings in the coming years, creating healthier living and working spaces.”  

Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director, NW Energy Coalition 

“To protect public health and mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis, Seattle must transition off of fossil fuels like polluting fracked gas. Developing strong and enforceable Building Emissions Performance Standards and requiring large buildings to make the switch from dirty fuels is a critical step to protect our climate and reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution, and will offer a model for other cities in the region to follow.” 

Dylan Plummer, Senior Campaign Representative, Sierra Club  

“The proposed Seattle Building Emissions Performance Standard positions the city among national leaders in reducing emissions from existing buildings—a crucial step to confronting the climate crisis and delivering health and economic benefits for families and businesses. RMI applauds Mayor Harrell for proposing this new standard and we look forward to supporting a strong policy that prioritizes housing equity, climate justice, and energy savings for its most vulnerable residents.”  

Jonny Kocher, Senior Associate, Carbon-Free Buildings Program, RMI 

“Fossil fuel use in buildings is one of the biggest contributors to the pollution that causes climate change. Seattle has helped to lead the way in Washington on reducing pollution in new construction and we’re encouraged to see them moving forward with a proposal to reduce pollution from existing buildings. This is a step in the right direction, and we hope this policy can help accelerate related efforts. A win in Seattle sets a template for cities across the country to do the same.”  

Michelle Piñon, SAFE Cities Senior Organizer, STAND.earth  

“We applaud Seattle’s proposed BEPS policy and its decision to join the ranks of major US cities leading the charge on building energy performance standards. With this move, Seattle not only aligns itself with cities like Boston, St. Louis, New York, and Washington, DC, but also positions itself favorably to secure vital federal funding for equitable implementation. The proposed BEPS is a win-win-win, benefiting buildings, residents and the climate. We are proud to have partnered with the City of Seattle on the development of this policy. “  

Jessica Miller, Senior Director of Policy Strategy & Engagement, IMT 

“Developing the Building Emissions Performance Standard was a key outcome of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnership with Seattle through the American Cities Climate Challenge. Today’s announcement underscores Seattle’s continued leadership on climate and the immense potential for all cities to accelerate climate action that benefits their communities, economy, and environment.”  

Antha Williams, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Environment Program Leader  

“This is important and challenging legislation. As a member of the Technical Advisory Group, it feels like our concerns were heard and addressed. The City did a great job of listening to stakeholders and crafting a standard that is simple to understand and will be effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.”  

Neil Bavins, Principal, Windward Consulting NW 

June 16: Join OSE for the Second Building Performance Standards Online Open House

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Developing a successful Seattle Building Performance Standards (BPS) policy will require understanding and offering solutions to meet the challenges – technical, financial, operational, or otherwise – that building owners, managers, and tenants may face in making upgrades. OSE is committed to a collaborative effort to maximize benefits to building owners and tenants and to ensure equitable pathways to high quality green jobs, especially for people of color and women.

On June 16th from 12pm to 1:30pm OSE is hosting a zoom webinar to give an update on our Building Performance Standard policy work to date and share highlights of stakeholder feedback received so far on the potential policy. In this open house, OSE will share the draft BPS policy framework and the policy timeline, and take comments and questions on the draft policy framework. Register for June 16th webinar.

Catching Up on the April 5 Open House

On April 5, OSE hosted the first open house, attended by 350 people, which gave an overview of how buildings contribute to climate pollution and the ways this pollution affects people’s health and our community, especially impacting communities of color. Staff presented on existing City policies to reduce climate pollution and discussed building performance standards (BPS) — what they are, how they work, how they might complement current state and city policies, and their benefits. Following the presentation, staff responded to audience questions and comments, which are summarized in the Q & A below. 

Why Building Performance Standards?

Seattle Building Performance Standards are projected to reduce building sector emissions 27% by 2050. They are the single most impactful building policy the City can implement in the next few years to reduce climate pollution and transition toward cleaner, healthier buildings.

Building performance standards are energy or emissions targets that existing buildings must meet over time to improve energy efficiency and reduce climate impacts. The City is developing an approach that would gradually phase out carbon pollution from existing commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 square feet (ft2) and larger through mandatory emissions targets, beginning 2026 for the largest commercial buildings, that become more stringent over time, to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045.

For more information on Building Performance Standards, see the OSE website at: www.seattle.gov/building-performance-standards.

New Resources: Understanding Your Building’s Path to Carbon Neutral

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Buildings are one of the largest and fastest growing sources of climate pollution in Seattle, responsible for more than one-third of our greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions pollute our air, accelerate climate change, and harm people’s health and the environment, disproportionately impacting communities of color and people with lower incomes. Many U.S. cities, including Seattle, are developing Building Performance Standards (BPS) that set long term targets on climate-polluting emissions from buildings. To help building owners get started, OSE has developed new case studies, most of which include cost estimates.  

Large Commercial & Multifamily Buildings

While every building is unique, most large nonresidential and multifamily buildings can use these steps to guide energy efficiency, emissions reductions, and electrification efforts. It starts with an audit, gets low to no-cost savings through a Building Tune-Up, followed by new controls and energy efficiency actions. These initial steps prepare the building for the most cost-effective upgrades of equipment to electric.

Mid-Size Office Buildings

Seattle has about 75 midsize post-war (built between 1946 and 1979) office buildings, making them an ideal pilot for exploring steps to achieve net-zero emissions. In this Mid-size Office Building concept plan, a complete building electrification, including replacing the 50-year-old gas-fired water heater and boiler could reduce energy use 59% and emissions 92%. Estimated total plan costs were $17.70/ft2 and a costly electric service upgrade would likely be avoided.

City-Owned Buildings

As called for in the 2021 Driving Accelerated Climate Action Executive Order, all City-owned buildings must operate without fossil fuels by 2035. This municipal buildings case study shares lessons learned and project highlights from 30 electrification projects underway or complete. A full electrification of The Brig recreation building at Magnuson Park reduced that building’s annual emissions 66% at an incremental cost (over replacing with a gas system) of $300,000.

Case Study: Stewart Manor Affordable Housing

Many buildings have early opportunities to change to electric as was the case in a concept plan developed for Seattle Housing Authority’s Stewart Manor Apartments. In this pilot, swapping out existing gas water heating system to electric heat pump (est. $4.15/ ft2) could reduce energy use 13% and was operating cost neutral. A straightforward and inexpensive (est. $0.20/ft2) upgrade from electric baseboard to a ductless heat pump in the building’s community room would provide an easy-to-access, on-site cooling room to help residents cope with dangerous heat emergencies like Seattle had in June 2021. Housing Development Consortium’s (HDC) has formed an affordable housing BPS task force to understand the impacts a new BPS policy may have on affordable housing.

Case Study: Washington State Services for the Blind

The State of Washington Department of Enterprise Services (DES) recently completed a full building renewal at this 1950’s era building, including a new electric heat pump HVAC system – instead of replacing the chiller and gas boiler and the remaining systems later. While more expensive upfront, DES’s approach will result in a lower total cost of ownership over a 30-year timespan.

Learn more about Building Performance standards at seattle.gov/building-performance-standards and share your own story with us at cleanbuildings@seattle.gov.

2021 Energy Benchmark Reports Due July 1

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Energy performance (benchmarks) for the 2021 calendar year must be updated in Portfolio Manager by July 1, 2022 for all multifamily and non-residential buildings 20,000 SF or larger.

To be in compliance, your building’s Portfolio Manager account must be:

  • Updated with current space use details and accurate energy meter data. If you have default data values assigned by the EPA you will need to correct them.
  • Updated with current contact information. 
  • Able to generate a 2021 December ending Energy Use Intensity (EUI) and ENERGY STAR® score (if available), and
  • Successfully shared with the City of Seattle Annual Reporting Portfolio Manager account.

Once you have completed all the required steps to make annual updates and share your 2021 benchmark report, you can check your building’s compliance status on the Seattle Benchmarking Compliance Portal. 

Make sure to check out our COVID FAQ if your building use has been impacted by COVID.

2019 Building Performance Data Published

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The City of Seattle recently published 2019 building energy performance data for Seattle’s largest commercial and multifamily properties. The data is available to view in Seattle’s Open Data Portal along with 2015 – 2018 building performance data. All five years of data can be downloaded and include energy performance metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy use per square foot (EUI), ENERGY STAR score, building type, size, and more. Explore the building data here or summary statistics by building type here. Customized building reports for 2019 data will be available in early 2021 through our online mapping tool www.seattle.gov/energybenchmarkingmap.

Large Buildings Achieve High Compliance with Building Tune-Ups Requirement

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After more than two years of the new Building Tune-Ups policy, the largest buildings have achieved over 97% compliance. Congratulations! The first two ‘cohorts’ of buildings – Cohort 1 (200,000+ SF) and Cohort 2 (100,000-199,999 SF) – have completed 330 tune-ups to date, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the city and saving money on their energy bills.

Building Tune-Ups optimize energy and water performance by identifying low- or no-cost actions related to building operations and maintenance. When done properly, tune-ups can generate 10-15% in energy savings and contribute to our climate goals. Tune-ups are required every five years for non-residential buildings 50,000 square feet or larger in the City of Seattle.

HVAC Operations Dominate Commonly Found Deficiencies

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) measures dominate the most commonly found deficiencies, for both required and voluntary actions (see below). HVAC set point fixes were identified and made in nearly half of all buildings above 100,000 SF to date. Tune-Up Specialists identified HVAC control issues or sensors that were uncalibrated, not functioning, or located inappropriately in 43% of the buildings tuned-up.

Voluntary Actions Uncover Additional Opportunities to Save

Of the most commonly identified voluntary actions, inefficient lighting equipment was identified in 47% of buildings assessed, with approximately 13% of all buildings voluntarily taking action to improve the efficiency of lighting during or after the tune-up. The second most common voluntary correction identified was the presence of equipment reaching the end of its service life, found in 44% of the approved tune-ups and acted upon in 7% of buildings. These voluntary actions represent opportunities for buildings to achieve deeper energy, carbon, and cost savings.

Smaller Building Deadlines Approaching

Owners of smaller buildings must meet the new Tune-Up mandate, April 1, 2021 for Cohort 3 buildings (70,000 to 99,999 GSF) and October 1, 2021 for Cohort 4 buildings (50,000 to 69,999 GSF). In addition to saving energy and water, conducting a Tune-Up can also help with preparing your building for operation during and/or after the COVID-19 pandemic.

All work associated with a Building Tune-Up must be done by a qualified Tune-Up Specialist, the experienced professionals responsible for conducting the building assessment, identifying required Tune-Up actions, performing those actions, verifying the work is done correctly, and submitting a report to the City. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) has a directory of qualified Tune-Ups Specialists. This is a great resource for obtaining tune-up bids.

Compliance takes time, often between 6 and 12 months. Owners are encouraged to get started now to ensure there is adequate time to complete the on-site building assessment and follow through on required corrective actions.

Benchmarking Enforcement Action Delayed for Non-Compliant Buildings

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In response to the ongoing pandemic, owners will have until 1/1/2021 before enforcement action is pursued. At that time, owners that remain non-compliant with SMC 22.920 will be subject to 2nd quarter fines based on building size. See the Energy Benchmarking enforcement page for more information. 

If you need help complying or have questions about benchmarking, contact he help desk at energybenchmarking@seattle.gov or 206-727-8484.

Check Your Compliance Status for 2019 Reporting

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The online compliance portal for Energy Benchmarking is now available to check compliance for 2019 benchmarking reports. Once you have completed the Annual Update Checklist, you can check your building’s compliance status at the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Compliance Portal. To check your status, you will need your Seattle OSE Building ID or Portfolio Manager User Name.  Reports with possible errors will require additional verification to be considered compliant.

More information on data accuracy requirements here. 

If you need help complying or have questions about benchmarking, contact he help desk at energybenchmarking@seattle.gov or 206-727-8484.

2019 Energy Benchmark Reports Due July 1

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The City of Seattle has extended the annual deadline for
benchmarking and reporting of 2019 data to July 1st, 2020.
Building owners of nonresidential and multifamily buildings 20,000
SF or larger are encouraged to use the additional time to review
their Portfolio Manager accounts, update space use details to
accurately reflect recent building uses, and confirm all tenant and
house utility meters are included.

Starting in mid-March, you can check your building’s compliance
status online via the Seattle Benchmarking Compliance Portal.