The Seattle Public Library on Capitol Hill is one of 32,000 Seattle buildings in the Honest Buildings directory

This could prove to be a handy resource for real estate nerds. Honest Buildings, a 3-month-old startup with operations in New York and Seattle, today is expanding its database of building information to include more than 32,000 structures in the Seattle area.

The Web site, which is free to use and backed by former Expedia CFO Michael Adler, Spring Ventures and others, allows users to browse pictures, square footage, building ownership, renovations and energy-efficiency programs. For example, I just looked up GeekWire’s worldwide HQ in Ballard at 1455 NW Leary Way to find out that the 11-year-old building has a total of 70,000 square feet and is made of masonry.

Russell Investments center. Click on image for full building profile

Honest Buildings is not alone in tracking structures. OfficeSpace.com is one of the oldest Internet brands in the Seattle area going back to 1995. It relaunched in January under the guidance of Internet entrepreneurs Susie and Alex Algard with the goal of providing “unbiased information on all buildings and available space in a particular market.”

In a statement, Adler said he invested in Honest Buildings because it was bringing the same type of efficiencies to the real estate market that TripAdvisor and Expedia brought to travel.

“Not only is this going to catalyze business for real estate companies big and small, but the transparency they are providing is also going to accelerate the adoption of more high performance, energy efficient buildings,” said Adler.

With the expansion in Seattle, Honest Buildings now has more than 400,000 buildings in its directory. The company also is announcing today that it has struck a partnership with the Seattle 2030 District which brings Sellen Sustainability, Perkins + Will and others onto the site.

“Honest Buildings offers the real estate industry a unique web‐based tool to promote greater knowledge, connectivity, and transparency,” said Christian Gunter of Sellen Sustainability.

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