diff --git a/Builds/CMake/RippledCore.cmake b/Builds/CMake/RippledCore.cmake
index a104f5626..9f2cdc921 100644
--- a/Builds/CMake/RippledCore.cmake
+++ b/Builds/CMake/RippledCore.cmake
@@ -48,13 +48,9 @@ target_sources (xrpl_core PRIVATE
   src/ripple/beast/net/impl/IPAddressV6.cpp
   src/ripple/beast/net/impl/IPEndpoint.cpp
   src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_Journal.cpp
-  src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_PropertyStream.cpp)
-
-# Conditionally add enhanced logging source when BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING is enabled
-if(DEFINED BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING AND BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING)
-  target_sources(xrpl_core PRIVATE
-    src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp)
-endif()
+  src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_PropertyStream.cpp
+  # Enhanced logging - compiles to empty when BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING is not defined
+  src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp)
 
 #[===============================[
     core sources
@@ -162,12 +158,16 @@ target_link_libraries (xrpl_core
     date::date
     Ripple::opts)
 
-# Link date-tz library when enhanced logging is enabled
-if(DEFINED BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING AND BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING)
-  if(TARGET date::date-tz)
-    target_link_libraries(xrpl_core PUBLIC date::date-tz)
-  endif()
+# date-tz for enhanced logging (always linked, code is #ifdef guarded)
+if(TARGET date::date-tz)
+  target_link_libraries(xrpl_core PUBLIC date::date-tz)
 endif()
+
+# BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING: enable for Debug builds OR when explicitly requested
+# Uses generator expression so it works with multi-config generators (Xcode, VS, Ninja Multi-Config)
+target_compile_definitions(xrpl_core PUBLIC
+  $<$<OR:$<CONFIG:Debug>,$<BOOL:${BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING}>>:BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING=1>
+)
 #[=================================[
    main/core headers installation
 #]=================================]
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 9a31d4931..d9d42149e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -37,20 +37,11 @@ endif() #git
 set(SOURCE_ROOT_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/")
 add_definitions(-DSOURCE_ROOT_PATH="${SOURCE_ROOT_PATH}")
 
-# BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING option - adds file:line numbers and formatting to logs
-# Default to ON for Debug builds, OFF for Release
-if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug")
-    option(BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING "Include file and line numbers in log messages" ON)
-else()
-    option(BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING "Include file and line numbers in log messages" OFF)
-endif()
-
-if(BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING)
-    add_definitions(-DBEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING=1)
-    message(STATUS "Log line numbers enabled")
-else()
-    message(STATUS "Log line numbers disabled")
-endif()
+# BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING - adds file:line numbers and formatting to logs
+# Automatically enabled for Debug builds via generator expression
+# Can be explicitly controlled with -DBEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING=ON/OFF
+option(BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING "Include file and line numbers in log messages (auto: Debug=ON, Release=OFF)" OFF)
+message(STATUS "BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING option: ${BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING}")
 
 if(thread_safety_analysis)
   add_compile_options(-Wthread-safety -D_LIBCPP_ENABLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ANNOTATIONS -DRIPPLE_ENABLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ANNOTATIONS)
diff --git a/src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp b/src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp
index c5f34bd88..f5a608dd0 100644
--- a/src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/beast/utility/src/beast_EnhancedLogging.cpp
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 */
 //==============================================================================
 
+#ifdef BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING
+
 #include <ripple/beast/utility/EnhancedLogging.h>
 #include <cstdlib>
 #include <cstring>
@@ -112,3 +114,5 @@ log_write_location_string(std::ostream& os, const char* file, int line)
 
 }  // namespace detail
 }  // namespace beast
+
+#endif  // BEAST_ENHANCED_LOGGING