At a glance
20 North Michigan Avenue is a 214,800-square-foot office building at 20 N. Michigan Ave in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1880. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 70 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 65.2 kBtu/ft² and 1,322 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 38% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 70 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 65.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 122.7 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 1,322 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 1,954,358 kWh |
| Natural gas | 73,274 therms |
| Gross floor area | 214,800 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:156711:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 70 | ±0 | 65.2 kBtu/ft² | 1,322 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 70 | -6 | 68.4 kBtu/ft² | 1,309 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 76 | ±0 | 55.7 kBtu/ft² | 1,220 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 76 | +16 | 58.3 kBtu/ft² | 1,369 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 60 | +1 | 82.4 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 59 | -25 | 76.2 kBtu/ft² | 2,001 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 84 | +1 | 74.2 kBtu/ft² | 2,151 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 83 | -2 | 77.6 kBtu/ft² | 2,236 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 85 | 62.8 kBtu/ft² | 2,263 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
- 20 N. Michigan Ave
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60602
- Coordinates
- 41.90977, -87.74338
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 425 South Financialscore 56
Office · 1,237,300 sq ft
Hotel · 421,989 sq ft
- The Washington at Woodlawn Parkscore 98
Multifamily Housing · 306,951 sq ft
- Verde Condo Associationscore 82
Multifamily Housing · 70,950 sq ft
K-12 School · 63,000 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 57,509 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 20 North Michigan Avenue compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 20 North Michigan Avenue's ENERGY STAR score of 70 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 38% of them and lower than 60%. Its site EUI of 65.2 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 70.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 17% below the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 214,800 sq ft, it is about 56% below the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1880, 76 years earlier than the group's average year built (1957). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².
How has 20 North Michigan Avenue's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for 20 North Michigan Avenue, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 85 in 2015 to 70 in 2023 (-15 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 85. Site EUI moved from 62.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 65.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 4% increase. Reported emissions went from 2,263 tCO₂e to 1,322 tCO₂e over the same span (down 42%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 70 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 70 means the building performs better than about 70% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 70 falls in band B — above median (70–84). It sits 5 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. 20 North Michigan Avenue's 65.2 kBtu/ft² across 214,800 sq ft works out to about 14 billion Btu (4,104 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 122.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,954,358 kWh of electricity and 73,274 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 20 North Michigan Avenue to report its energy use?
20 North Michigan Avenue 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:156711:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More office buildings in Chicago
- WGN Studios· 213,533 sq ft · score 1 (D)
- U.S. Cellular Plaza - 8420 _ Goby LLC· 212,651 sq ft · score 100 (A)
- U.S. Cellular Plaza - 8410 _ Goby LLC· 212,428 sq ft · score 4 (D)
- CHCXILCW_IB00100005568/OB8292/2011 W HASTINGS ST/CHICAGO/IL· 206,000 sq ft · score 96 (A)
- 134 N. LaSalle LLC· 204,321 sq ft · score 74 (B)
- Randolph Wells· 200,116 sq ft · score 71 (B)
- Office buildings in Chicago· 387 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 20 North Michigan Avenue's energy grade?
20 North Michigan Avenue scores 70 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 20 North Michigan Avenue use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 65.2 kBtu/ft² (122.7 kBtu/ft² source) across 214,800 sq ft, including 1,954,358 kWh of electricity and 73,274 therms of natural gas.
What are 20 North Michigan Avenue's carbon emissions?
20 North Michigan Avenue reported 1,322 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.2 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 20 North Michigan Avenue?
20 North Michigan Avenue is at 20 N. Michigan Ave, in Chicago, Illinois 60602. Its coordinates are 41.90977, -87.74338 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 20 North Michigan Avenue and when was it built?
20 North Michigan Avenue has 214,800 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1880 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is 20 North Michigan Avenue 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, “20 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/20-north-michigan-avenue-061e9593 (data as of October 2, 2026).