1521 S WABASH AVE
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 60605
At a glance
1521 S WABASH AVE is a 62,100-square-foot multifamily housing building in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2000. In its 2022 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 43 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 154.3 kBtu/ft² and 747 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 24% of the 1,472 scored multifamily housing buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2022
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 43 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 154.3 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 247.4 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 747 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 12.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 888,595 kWh |
| Natural gas | 65,471 therms |
| Gross floor area | 62,100 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:116702:2022 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022latest | 43 | -1 | 154.3 kBtu/ft² | 747 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 44 | +4 | 146.8 kBtu/ft² | 759 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 40 | +7 | 151.6 kBtu/ft² | 817 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 33 | +3 | 158.3 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 30 | -4 | 165.4 kBtu/ft² | 933 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 34 | +2 | 153.3 kBtu/ft² | 942 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 32 | 157.1 kBtu/ft² | 970 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
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Location
- Address
- 1521 S WABASH AVE
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60605
- Coordinates
- 41.86132, -87.62554
Within ~1 km
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Multifamily Housing · 921,603 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 1521 S WABASH AVE compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 1,515 multifamily housing buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 1521 S WABASH AVE's ENERGY STAR score of 43 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 24% of them and lower than 74%. Its site EUI of 154.3 kBtu/ft² is about twice the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 12.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about twice the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 62,100 sq ft, it is about 70% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2000, 29 years later than the group's average year built (1971). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².
How has 1521 S WABASH AVE's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 7 Chicago disclosures for 1521 S WABASH AVE, covering report years 2016–2022. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 32 in 2016 to 43 in 2022 (+11 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 44. Site EUI moved from 157.1 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 154.3 kBtu/ft² (2022), a 2% decrease. Reported emissions went from 970 tCO₂e to 747 tCO₂e over the same span (down 23%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 43 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 43 means the building performs better than about 43% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 43 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 32 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Chicago, 35% 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. 1521 S WABASH AVE's 154.3 kBtu/ft² across 62,100 sq ft works out to about 9.6 billion Btu (2,808 MWh-equivalent) in 2022. Its source EUI of 247.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 888,595 kWh of electricity and 65,471 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 1521 S WABASH AVE to report its energy use?
1521 S WABASH AVE reports under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance, the legal basis of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2022 disclosure (source record chicago:116702:2022). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
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Frequently asked questions
What is 1521 S WABASH AVE's energy grade?
1521 S WABASH AVE scores 43 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2022 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 1521 S WABASH AVE use?
Its 2022 site energy-use intensity was 154.3 kBtu/ft² (247.4 kBtu/ft² source) across 62,100 sq ft, including 888,595 kWh of electricity and 65,471 therms of natural gas.
What are 1521 S WABASH AVE's carbon emissions?
1521 S WABASH AVE reported 747 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (12.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2022.
Where is 1521 S WABASH AVE?
1521 S WABASH AVE is in Chicago, Illinois 60605. Its coordinates are 41.86132, -87.62554 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 1521 S WABASH AVE and when was it built?
1521 S WABASH AVE has 62,100 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2022 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2000 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 1521 S WABASH AVE covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2022 Chicago Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance.
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About this data
Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking (Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “1521 S WABASH AVE, Chicago, Illinois — 2022 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/1521-s-wabash-ave-fc7cc9b4 (data as of October 2, 2026).