5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 60637
At a glance
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE is a 82,328-square-foot multifamily housing building in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1948. In its 2022 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 35 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 128.7 kBtu/ft² and 684 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 18% of the 1,472 scored multifamily housing buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2022
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 35 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 128.7 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 170.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 684 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 8.4 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 481,796 kWh |
| Natural gas | 88,020 therms |
| Gross floor area | 82,328 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:260091:2022 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022latest | 35 | +17 | 128.7 kBtu/ft² | 684 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 18 | +7 | 148.7 kBtu/ft² | 775 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 11 | +5 | 161.5 kBtu/ft² | 848 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 6 | -2 | 183.8 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 8 | -2 | 179.6 kBtu/ft² | 941 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 10 | 162.7 kBtu/ft² | 910 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
- 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60637
- Coordinates
- 41.79362, -87.59179
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE 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. 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE's ENERGY STAR score of 35 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 18% of them and lower than 81%. Its site EUI of 128.7 kBtu/ft² is about 79% 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 8.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 45% above the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 82,328 sq ft, it is about 60% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1948, 23 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 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 6 Chicago disclosures for 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE, covering report years 2017–2022. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 10 in 2017 to 35 in 2022 (+25 points). Site EUI moved from 162.7 kBtu/ft² (2017) to 128.7 kBtu/ft² (2022), a 21% decrease. Reported emissions went from 910 tCO₂e to 684 tCO₂e over the same span (down 25%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 35 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 35 means the building performs better than about 35% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 35 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 40 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. 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE's 128.7 kBtu/ft² across 82,328 sq ft works out to about 10.6 billion Btu (3,105 MWh-equivalent) in 2022. Its source EUI of 170.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 481,796 kWh of electricity and 88,020 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE to report its energy use?
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE 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 2022 disclosure (source record chicago:260091:2022). 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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- 1712-1720 W Albion Ave· 81,896 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- The Denifer· 81,600 sq ft · score 82 (B)
- Stein Place· 81,561 sq ft · score 97 (A)
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- Multifamily Housing buildings in Chicago· 1,515 benchmarked
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Frequently asked questions
What is 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE's energy grade?
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE scores 35 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2022 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE use?
Its 2022 site energy-use intensity was 128.7 kBtu/ft² (170.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 82,328 sq ft, including 481,796 kWh of electricity and 88,020 therms of natural gas.
What are 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE's carbon emissions?
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE reported 684 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (8.4 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2022.
Where is 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE?
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE is in Chicago, Illinois 60637. Its coordinates are 41.79362, -87.59179 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE and when was it built?
5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE has 82,328 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2022 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1948 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is 5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2022 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, “5550 5556 S DORCHESTER AVE, Chicago, Illinois — 2022 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/5550-5556-s-dorchester-ave-1169557d (data as of October 2, 2026).