Breckinridge House
Residence Hall/Dormitory in Chicago, IL · 1442 E. 59th Street · 60637
At a glance
Breckinridge House is a 50,698-square-foot residence hall/dormitory at 1442 E. 59th Street in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1916. 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 51.5 kBtu/ft² and 189 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 94% of the 18 scored residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 95 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 51.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 68.6 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 189 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 3.7 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 60,900 kWh |
| Natural gas | 2 therms |
| Water use | 50 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 50,698 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:256502:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 95 | -1 | 51.5 kBtu/ft² | 189 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 96 | ±0 | 55.7 kBtu/ft² | 201 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 96 | +1 | 52.5 kBtu/ft² | 195 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 95 | -2 | 55.0 kBtu/ft² | 209 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 97 | +2 | 47.6 kBtu/ft² | 189 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 95 | 57.9 kBtu/ft² | 226 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
- 1442 E. 59th Street
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60637
- Coordinates
- 41.85779, -87.62546
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Breckinridge House compare with other residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 25 residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Breckinridge House's ENERGY STAR score of 95 compares with an average of 64 across the 18 that report a score; it scores higher than 94% of them. Its site EUI of 51.5 kBtu/ft² is about 38% below the average of 83.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 3.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about half of the group average of 7.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 50,698 sq ft, it is about 70% below the average floor area of 167,953 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1916, 60 years earlier than the group's average year built (1977). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 702 residence hall/dormitory buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 70.7 kBtu/ft².
How has Breckinridge House's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 6 Chicago disclosures for Breckinridge House, covering report years 2018–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score was 95 in both 2018 and 2023. Site EUI moved from 57.9 kBtu/ft² (2018) to 51.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 11% decrease. Reported emissions went from 226 tCO₂e to 189 tCO₂e over the same span (down 16%).
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. Breckinridge House's 51.5 kBtu/ft² across 50,698 sq ft works out to about 2.6 billion Btu (765 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 68.6 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 60,900 kWh of electricity, 2 therms of natural gas and 50 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Breckinridge House to report its energy use?
Breckinridge House 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:256502:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More residence hall/dormitory buildings in Chicago
Frequently asked questions
What is Breckinridge House's energy grade?
Breckinridge House 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 Breckinridge House use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 51.5 kBtu/ft² (68.6 kBtu/ft² source) across 50,698 sq ft, including 60,900 kWh of electricity and 2 therms of natural gas.
What are Breckinridge House's carbon emissions?
Breckinridge House reported 189 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (3.7 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Breckinridge House?
Breckinridge House is at 1442 E. 59th Street, in Chicago, Illinois 60637. Its coordinates are 41.85779, -87.62546 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Breckinridge House and when was it built?
Breckinridge House has 50,698 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1916 as its year built. It is classed as residence hall/dormitory.
Is Breckinridge House 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, “Breckinridge House, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/breckinridge-house-1b2c1adc (data as of October 2, 2026).