At a glance
550 West Adams is a 519,368-square-foot office building at 550 W. Adams in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2006. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 87 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 33.5 kBtu/ft² and 2,420 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 83% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 87 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 33.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 93.2 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 2,420 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 4.7 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 5,046,260 kWh |
| Natural gas | 1,971 therms |
| Gross floor area | 519,368 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:101887:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 87 | +4 | 33.5 kBtu/ft² | 2,420 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 83 | -1 | 38.4 kBtu/ft² | 2,620 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 84 | +2 | 37.1 kBtu/ft² | 2,733 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 82 | +6 | 38.8 kBtu/ft² | 3,080 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 76 | +9 | 51.3 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 67 | -21 | 55.5 kBtu/ft² | 4,655 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 88 | +3 | 52.6 kBtu/ft² | 4,855 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 85 | +2 | 56.1 kBtu/ft² | 5,172 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 83 | -2 | 57.8 kBtu/ft² | 5,804 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 85 | 57.0 kBtu/ft² | 5,753 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
- 550 W. Adams
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60661
- Coordinates
- 41.99326, -87.65563
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 550 West Adams compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. 550 West Adams's ENERGY STAR score of 87 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 83% of them and lower than 14%. Its site EUI of 33.5 kBtu/ft² is about half of 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 4.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 37% below the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 519,368 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2006, 50 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 550 West Adams's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Chicago disclosures for 550 West Adams, covering report years 2014–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 85 in 2014 to 87 in 2023 (+2 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 88. Site EUI moved from 57.0 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 33.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 41% decrease. Reported emissions went from 5,753 tCO₂e to 2,420 tCO₂e over the same span (down 58%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 87 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 87 means the building performs better than about 87% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 87 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. 550 West Adams's 33.5 kBtu/ft² across 519,368 sq ft works out to about 17.4 billion Btu (5,099 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 93.2 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 5,046,260 kWh of electricity and 1,971 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 550 West Adams to report its energy use?
550 West Adams 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:101887:2023). 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
- 444 N. Michigan· 517,115 sq ft · score 36 (D)
- O'Hare Plaza II· 516,010 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- 122 Property LLC· 512,369 sq ft · score 66 (C)
- 25 E Washington· 497,964 sq ft · score 84 (B)
- The Monadnock Building· 496,749 sq ft · score 98 (A)
- Albert Merritt Billings· 488,322 sq ft · score 73 (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 550 West Adams's energy grade?
550 West Adams scores 87 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 550 West Adams use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 33.5 kBtu/ft² (93.2 kBtu/ft² source) across 519,368 sq ft, including 5,046,260 kWh of electricity and 1,971 therms of natural gas.
What are 550 West Adams's carbon emissions?
550 West Adams reported 2,420 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (4.7 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is 550 West Adams?
550 West Adams is at 550 W. Adams, in Chicago, Illinois 60661. Its coordinates are 41.99326, -87.65563 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 550 West Adams and when was it built?
550 West Adams has 519,368 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2006 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is 550 West Adams 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, “550 West Adams, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/550-west-adams-5c0c57ea (data as of October 2, 2026).