1540 N. Lake Shore Drive
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 60610
At a glance
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive is a 138,636-square-foot multifamily housing building in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1929. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 96 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 57.5 kBtu/ft² and 592 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 90% of the 1,472 scored multifamily housing buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 96 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 57.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 84.9 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 592 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 568,913 kWh |
| Natural gas | 60,347 therms |
| Gross floor area | 138,636 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:113573:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 96 | +1 | 57.5 kBtu/ft² | 592 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 95 | -1 | 66.3 kBtu/ft² | 642 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 96 | +1 | 60.2 kBtu/ft² | 627 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 95 | +3 | 61.5 kBtu/ft² | 666 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 92 | +3 | 68.5 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 89 | -5 | 71.9 kBtu/ft² | 806 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 94 | +3 | 59.6 kBtu/ft² | 745 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 91 | 64.9 kBtu/ft² | 820 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
- 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60610
- Coordinates
- 42.01054, -87.69176
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- Old Town Park 2score 84
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- 200 East Delawarescore 66
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- State Tower CAscore 49
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- 6900 S Crandonscore 24
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- Newberryscore 66
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive 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. 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive's ENERGY STAR score of 96 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 90% of them and lower than 8%. Its site EUI of 57.5 kBtu/ft² is about 20% below the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 4.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 26% below the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 138,636 sq ft, it is about 33% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1929, 42 years earlier 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 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 91 in 2016 to 96 in 2023 (+5 points); its best year on file was 2021, at 96. Site EUI moved from 64.9 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 57.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 11% decrease. Reported emissions went from 820 tCO₂e to 592 tCO₂e over the same span (down 28%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 96 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 96 means the building performs better than about 96% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 96 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. 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. 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive's 57.5 kBtu/ft² across 138,636 sq ft works out to about 8 billion Btu (2,336 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 84.9 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 568,913 kWh of electricity and 60,347 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive to report its energy use?
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive 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 2023 disclosure (source record chicago:113573:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More multifamily housing buildings in Chicago
- 50 East Chestnut Condominium Association· 138,485 sq ft · score 13 (D)
- Trailhead· 138,347 sq ft · EUI 34.3 kBtu/ft²
- Renaissance Place at Hyde Park Condominium Association South· 137,769 sq ft · score 58 (C)
- 1120 N Lake Shore Drive· 137,739 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- Archer Courts Apartments· 137,730 sq ft · score 61 (C)
- Luxe on Madison ~ lx015· 137,514 sq ft · score 59 (C)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in Chicago· 1,515 benchmarked
- All Chicago benchmarked buildings· Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
- Most efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Least efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Biggest emitters in Chicago
Frequently asked questions
What is 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive's energy grade?
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive scores 96 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band A, high performer (85–100) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 57.5 kBtu/ft² (84.9 kBtu/ft² source) across 138,636 sq ft, including 568,913 kWh of electricity and 60,347 therms of natural gas.
What are 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive's carbon emissions?
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive reported 592 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive?
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive is in Chicago, Illinois 60610. Its coordinates are 42.01054, -87.69176 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive and when was it built?
1540 N. Lake Shore Drive has 138,636 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1929 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 1540 N. Lake Shore Drive covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 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, “1540 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/1540-n-lake-shore-drive-8be5aa62 (data as of October 2, 2026).