Buena Terrace

How does Buena Terrace 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. Buena Terrace's ENERGY STAR score of 65 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 49% of them and lower than 51%. Its site EUI of 82.2 kBtu/ft² is about 14% 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 5.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 91,524 sq ft, it is about 56% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1933, 38 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 Buena Terrace's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for Buena Terrace, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score was 65 in both 2016 and 2023. Site EUI moved from 102.4 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 82.2 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 20% decrease. Reported emissions went from 572 tCO₂e to 525 tCO₂e over the same span (down 8%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 65 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 65 means the building performs better than about 65% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 65 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 10 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. Buena Terrace's 82.2 kBtu/ft² across 91,524 sq ft works out to about 7.5 billion Btu (2,205 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 114.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 424,578 kWh of electricity and 60,733 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Buena Terrace to report its energy use?

Buena Terrace 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:105788:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.