544 W. Melrose St.
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 60657
At a glance
544 W. Melrose St. is a 50,589-square-foot multifamily housing building in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1967. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 40 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 83.1 kBtu/ft² and 302 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 22% 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 | 40 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 83.1 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 118.4 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 302 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 264,003 kWh |
| Natural gas | 33,033 therms |
| Gross floor area | 50,589 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:104250:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 40 | -3 | 83.1 kBtu/ft² | 302 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 43 | -9 | 90.9 kBtu/ft² | 320 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 52 | ±0 | 81.9 kBtu/ft² | 300 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 52 | +1 | 80.8 kBtu/ft² | 310 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 51 | -1 | 85.5 kBtu/ft² | 328 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 52 | +6 | 86.3 kBtu/ft² | 336 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 46 | +2 | 84.9 kBtu/ft² | 350 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 44 | 87.4 kBtu/ft² | 368 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
- 544 W. Melrose St.
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60657
- Coordinates
- 41.74827, -87.59162
Within ~1 km
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How does 544 W. Melrose St. 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. 544 W. Melrose St.'s ENERGY STAR score of 40 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 22% of them and lower than 77%. Its site EUI of 83.1 kBtu/ft² is about 15% above 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 6.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 50,589 sq ft, it is about 75% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1967, 4 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 544 W. Melrose St.'s energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for 544 W. Melrose St., covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 44 in 2016 to 40 in 2023 (-4 points); its best year on file was 2018, at 52. Site EUI moved from 87.4 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 83.1 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 5% decrease. Reported emissions went from 368 tCO₂e to 302 tCO₂e over the same span (down 18%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 40 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 40 means the building performs better than about 40% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 40 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 35 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. 544 W. Melrose St.'s 83.1 kBtu/ft² across 50,589 sq ft works out to about 4.2 billion Btu (1,232 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 118.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 264,003 kWh of electricity and 33,033 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 544 W. Melrose St. to report its energy use?
544 W. Melrose St. 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:104250:2023). 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
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- 5411 N Winthrop-CLK· 50,477 sq ft · score 50 (D)
- Lafayette Terrace Apartments benchmarking account· 50,388 sq ft · score 90 (A)
- 200 N Central· 50,291 sq ft · score 41 (D)
- G&A Senior Residence at Kedzie· 50,181 sq ft · score 45 (D)
- 4600 N. Winchester· 50,139 sq ft · score 24 (D)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in Chicago· 1,515 benchmarked
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Frequently asked questions
What is 544 W. Melrose St.'s energy grade?
544 W. Melrose St. scores 40 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 544 W. Melrose St. use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 83.1 kBtu/ft² (118.4 kBtu/ft² source) across 50,589 sq ft, including 264,003 kWh of electricity and 33,033 therms of natural gas.
What are 544 W. Melrose St.'s carbon emissions?
544 W. Melrose St. reported 302 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 544 W. Melrose St.?
544 W. Melrose St. is in Chicago, Illinois 60657. Its coordinates are 41.74827, -87.59162 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 544 W. Melrose St. and when was it built?
544 W. Melrose St. has 50,589 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1967 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 544 W. Melrose St. 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, “544 W. Melrose St., Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/544-w-melrose-st-83b4b8e0 (data as of October 2, 2026).