At a glance
401 N Michigan Avenue is a 1,040,767-square-foot office building in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1965. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 78 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 70.2 kBtu/ft² and 6,505 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 60% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 78 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 70.2 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 124.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 6,505 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 8,863,224 kWh |
| Natural gas | 427,946 therms |
| Water use | 5,600 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 1,040,767 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:101804:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 78 | -1 | 70.2 kBtu/ft² | 6,505 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 79 | +13 | 79.0 kBtu/ft² | 6,730 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 66 | -12 | 87.6 kBtu/ft² | 6,732 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 78 | +4 | 74.1 kBtu/ft² | 6,087 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 74 | +15 | 88.9 kBtu/ft² | 7,468 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 59 | -24 | 92.8 kBtu/ft² | 7,807 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 83 | +2 | 95.4 kBtu/ft² | 8,397 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 81 | +4 | 101.4 kBtu/ft² | 8,627 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 77 | +3 | 100.5 kBtu/ft² | 9,438 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 74 | 117.0 kBtu/ft² | 10,572 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.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 401 N Michigan Avenue
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60611
- Coordinates
- 41.76324, -87.55962
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 332 Property LLCscore 73
Office · 529,401 sq ft
- Haberdasher SOuare Loftsscore 71
Multifamily Housing · 420,684 sq ft
- Webster SOuare Condominiumsscore 96
Multifamily Housing · 206,697 sq ft
- 1000 Adams CAscore 71
Multifamily Housing · 185,669 sq ft
Fitness Center/Health Club/Gym · 158,483 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 138,485 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 401 N Michigan Avenue compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 401 N Michigan Avenue's ENERGY STAR score of 78 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 60% of them and lower than 36%. Its site EUI of 70.2 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 1,040,767 sq ft, it is about twice the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1965, 9 years later 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 401 N Michigan Avenue's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Chicago disclosures for 401 N Michigan Avenue, covering report years 2014–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 74 in 2014 to 78 in 2023 (+4 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 83. Site EUI moved from 117.0 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 70.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 40% decrease. Reported emissions went from 10,572 tCO₂e to 6,505 tCO₂e over the same span (down 38%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 78 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 78 means the building performs better than about 78% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 78 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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. 401 N Michigan Avenue's 70.2 kBtu/ft² across 1,040,767 sq ft works out to about 73.1 billion Btu (21,412 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 124.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 8,863,224 kWh of electricity, 427,946 therms of natural gas and 5,600 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires 401 N Michigan Avenue to report its energy use?
401 N 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:101804:2023). 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
- 525 West Monroe· 1,028,492 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- 303 E. Wacker· 1,017,581 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- 333 West Wacker· 1,012,961 sq ft · score 77 (B)
- 200 West Madison (Brightly)· 1,001,833 sq ft · score 68 (C)
- O'Hare Plaza I· 985,092 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- 111 N Canal· 983,470 sq ft · score 90 (A)
- 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 401 N Michigan Avenue's energy grade?
401 N Michigan Avenue scores 78 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 401 N Michigan Avenue use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 70.2 kBtu/ft² (124.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 1,040,767 sq ft, including 8,863,224 kWh of electricity and 427,946 therms of natural gas.
What are 401 N Michigan Avenue's carbon emissions?
401 N Michigan Avenue reported 6,505 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.2 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 401 N Michigan Avenue?
401 N Michigan Avenue is in Chicago, Illinois 60611. Its coordinates are 41.76324, -87.55962 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 401 N Michigan Avenue and when was it built?
401 N Michigan Avenue has 1,040,767 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1965 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is 401 N 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.
Working with Chicago building benchmarking records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
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, “401 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/401-n-michigan-avenue-ce994c97 (data as of October 2, 2026).