Bookstore

How does Bookstore compare with other retail store buildings in Chicago?

The latest disclosures cover 50 retail store buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Bookstore's ENERGY STAR score of 45 compares with an average of 60 across the 36 that report a score; it scores higher than 22% of them and lower than 72%. Its site EUI of 107.8 kBtu/ft² is about 42% above the average of 75.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 10.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 30% above the group average of 8.1 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 50,162 sq ft, it is about 73% below the average floor area of 184,393 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1902, 82 years earlier than the group's average year built (1984). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,025 retail store buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 57.7 kBtu/ft².

How has Bookstore's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Bookstore, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 34 in 2015 to 45 in 2023 (+11 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 62. Site EUI moved from 109.6 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 107.8 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 2% decrease. Reported emissions went from 719 tCO₂e to 525 tCO₂e over the same span (down 27%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 45 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 45 means the building performs better than about 45% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 45 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 30 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. Bookstore's 107.8 kBtu/ft² across 50,162 sq ft works out to about 5.4 billion Btu (1,585 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 201.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 661,287 kWh of electricity and 656 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires Bookstore to report its energy use?

Bookstore 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:252041:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.