At a glance
Best Western River North Hotel is a 86,000-square-foot hotel at 125 W. Ohio St. in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1965. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 95 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 78.9 kBtu/ft² and 541 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 96% of the 77 scored hotel buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 95 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 78.9 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 125.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 541 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 607,853 kWh |
| Natural gas | 47,141 therms |
| Water use | 840 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 86,000 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:173635:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 95 | -2 | 78.9 kBtu/ft² | 541 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 97 | 71.8 kBtu/ft² | 495 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | — | — | — | |
| 2019 | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | 75 | 101.0 kBtu/ft² | 711 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
- 125 W. Ohio St.
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60654
- Coordinates
- 41.79758, -87.58234
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 110 NC LLCscore 87
Office · 649,985 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 562,000 sq ft
- Congress Centerscore 80
Office · 527,238 sq ft
- RUMC - Rubschlager Buildingscore 19
Medical Office · 450,000 sq ft
- W Chicago Lakeshorescore 54
Hotel · 381,382 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 343,718 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Best Western River North Hotel compare with other hotel buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 88 hotel buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Best Western River North Hotel's ENERGY STAR score of 95 compares with an average of 51 across the 77 that report a score; it scores higher than 96% of them and lower than 1%. Its site EUI of 78.9 kBtu/ft² is about 28% below the average of 110.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 6.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 38% below the group average of 10.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 86,000 sq ft, it is about 75% below the average floor area of 343,808 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1965, 14 years earlier than the group's average year built (1979). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,812 hotel buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 65 and a site EUI of 77.8 kBtu/ft².
How has Best Western River North Hotel's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 7 Chicago disclosures for Best Western River North Hotel, covering report years 2017–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 75 in 2017 to 95 in 2023 (+20 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 97. Site EUI moved from 101.0 kBtu/ft² (2017) to 78.9 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 22% decrease. Reported emissions went from 711 tCO₂e to 541 tCO₂e over the same span (down 24%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 95 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 95 means the building performs better than about 95% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 95 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. Best Western River North Hotel's 78.9 kBtu/ft² across 86,000 sq ft works out to about 6.8 billion Btu (1,989 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 125.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 607,853 kWh of electricity, 47,141 therms of natural gas and 840 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Best Western River North Hotel to report its energy use?
Best Western River North Hotel 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:173635:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More hotel buildings in Chicago
- Chicago, 1 West Washington St· 85,000 sq ft · score 7 (D)
- Hyatt Place Chicago / South· 84,947 sq ft · EUI 96.9 kBtu/ft²
- Interwest Chicago Hotel LLC dba Claridge House· 83,961 sq ft · score 55 (C)
- ACME Hotel Company· 80,000 sq ft · score 82 (B)
- Chicago IL SCH· 76,800 sq ft · score 51 (D)
- Holiday Inn Downtown Chicago· 74,314 sq ft · score 40 (D)
- Hotel buildings in Chicago· 88 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 Best Western River North Hotel's energy grade?
Best Western River North Hotel scores 95 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 Best Western River North Hotel use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 78.9 kBtu/ft² (125.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 86,000 sq ft, including 607,853 kWh of electricity and 47,141 therms of natural gas.
What are Best Western River North Hotel's carbon emissions?
Best Western River North Hotel reported 541 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Best Western River North Hotel?
Best Western River North Hotel is at 125 W. Ohio St., in Chicago, Illinois 60654. Its coordinates are 41.79758, -87.58234 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Best Western River North Hotel and when was it built?
Best Western River North Hotel has 86,000 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1965 as its year built. It is classed as hotel.
Is Best Western River North Hotel 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, “Best Western River North Hotel, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/best-western-river-north-hotel-23c12def (data as of October 2, 2026).