Medford Building Performance Standard

Asante Health System employs more than 6,000 people across nine counties in Southern Oregon and Northern California, and its Rogue Regional Medical Center campus in Medford is the largest healthcare facility between Eugene and Redding. That one health system alone accounts for a substantial share of Medford’s regulated commercial building footprint under Oregon’s Building Performance Standard. Add in the downtown historic district, the retail and distribution hub along Highway 62 and Crater Lake Highway, and the manufacturing base scattered across Jackson County, and you have a commercial real estate market where the BPS mandate lands heavily on a relatively small set of property categories.

How Oregon BPS Applies to Medford

Oregon BPS — codified in ORS 330-300 and administered by the Oregon Department of Energy — requires covered commercial buildings 35,000 square feet and larger to benchmark annual energy use, complete an ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit, run a life-cycle cost assessment on identified conservation measures, and submit a Form Q compliance report by 2028 or 2030 depending on tier. Benchmarking was due in January 2025. The audit and Form Q work comes next.

In Medford specifically that captures:

• Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center and affiliated medical office buildings
• Providence Medford Medical Center and its outpatient network
• Private clinics and specialty care buildings above the 35,000 sq ft threshold
• Downtown Medford office buildings, including the historic commercial district stock
• Retail anchors and shopping center pads along Crater Lake Highway and Riverside Avenue
• Hotels serving the Rogue Valley tourism corridor
• Warehouse and distribution centers in the Whittle Road industrial area and along the I-5 corridor
• Larger multifamily buildings and hotels
• Private education and institutional facilities

Medford at a Glance

Medford Detail	Figure
City population (2026)	~82,000-87,000
County	Jackson (county seat)
Electric utility	Pacific Power
Dominant commercial sectors	Healthcare, retail, warehouse, hospitality
Largest private employer	Asante Health System (~6,000 employees)
Historic district	Downtown Medford Historic District — 104 contributing buildings
City climate plan	Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience Plan (approved Jan 2024)

What the ASHRAE Level 2 Audit Actually Entails

ASHRAE Standard 100 with Oregon amendments defines the scope of the audit, and it’s more rigorous than most building owners expect. It’s not a utility bill review or a high-level walkthrough. A compliant audit involves a detailed on-site assessment, measurement of key building system performance, energy modeling, and a life-cycle cost assessment on every recommended energy conservation measure. For a 65,000 square foot Medford office, four to six weeks from kickoff to delivered report is typical. For an Asante or Providence campus building with complex mechanical systems and 24/7 operation, the timeline extends.

Our fee is flat, based on building square footage, and locked at the time of scoping:

• 35,000–50,000 sq ft — $7,500
• 50,000–75,000 sq ft — $10,000
• 75,000–100,000 sq ft — $13,500
• 100,000–150,000 sq ft — $17,500
• 150,000+ sq ft — custom quote

No hourly billing. No percentage of savings. No surprises when the invoice arrives.

Incentives That Can Cover the Audit

Energy Trust of Oregon offers up to $0.85 per square foot in incentives for early BPS compliance work. For a 60,000 square foot Medford medical office building, that’s $51,000 — roughly five times the audit fee, with plenty left to fund actual equipment upgrades. Since Medford is served by Pacific Power, Energy Trust applies directly. Pacific Power also runs commercial efficiency rebates on specific lighting, HVAC, and controls measures that stack on top.

For healthcare clients in particular we’ll flag the building-system-specific Energy Trust incentive paths early in the engagement, because healthcare HVAC, controls, and process loads are often the biggest savings opportunities in the report.

Why Medford Building Owners Should Start Now

The 2028-2030 deadline sounds distant. The actual engineering work — audit, LCCA, Form Q, and any physical upgrades identified during the audit — typically takes 9 to 18 months from kickoff to completion. Add Jackson County’s smaller pool of ASHRAE-qualified energy auditors compared to Portland, and scheduling tightens fast as 2027 approaches. Starting the audit in 2026 means finishing at a reasonable pace, claiming the full Energy Trust incentive, and avoiding the late-cycle availability crunch.

Medford building owners working with Asante, Rogue Regional, Providence, or any commercial property in the 35,000+ sq ft range can email Mike VanVickle at vanvicklebros@gmail.com for a flat quote and a Pacific Power/Energy Trust stacking read. For a broader view of the compliance timeline, see our 2026 BPS action checklist, and for the healthcare-specific angle that drives much of Medford’s commercial stock, read Oregon BPS for healthcare facilities.