At a glance
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite is a 425,940-square-foot hotel at 511 North Columbus Drive in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2001. In its 2016 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 10 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 171.7 kBtu/ft² and 7,424 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 6% of the 77 scored hotel buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2016
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 10 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 171.7 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 312.7 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 7,424 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 17.4 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 7,904,502 kWh |
| Natural gas | 461,816 therms |
| Gross floor area | 425,940 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:158304:2016 |
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
- 511 North Columbus Drive
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60611
- Coordinates
- 41.89143, -87.61969
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite compare with other hotel buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 88 hotel buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite's ENERGY STAR score of 10 compares with an average of 51 across the 77 that report a score; it scores higher than 6% of them and lower than 92%. Its site EUI of 171.7 kBtu/ft² is about 56% above the average of 110.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 17.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 72% above the group average of 10.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 425,940 sq ft, it is about 24% above the average floor area of 343,808 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2001, 22 years later 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.
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 10 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 10 means the building performs better than about 10% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 10 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 65 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. Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite's 171.7 kBtu/ft² across 425,940 sq ft works out to about 73.1 billion Btu (21,433 MWh-equivalent) in 2016. Its source EUI of 312.7 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 7,904,502 kWh of electricity and 461,816 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite to report its energy use?
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite 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 2016 disclosure (source record chicago:158304:2016). 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
- DT Chicago Magnificent Mile, IL-SV· 421,989 sq ft · score 80 (B)
- The Peninsula Chicago· 410,081 sq ft · score 11 (D)
- LondonHouse Chicago· 390,430 sq ft · score 32 (D)
- 1123 - The Allegro Royal Sonesta - 171 W Randolph - SVC· 383,168 sq ft · score 40 (D)
- 1063 - Royal Sonesta Chicago Riverfront 71 E Wacker Drive - SVC· 381,540 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- W Chicago Lakeshore· 381,382 sq ft · score 54 (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 Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite's energy grade?
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite scores 10 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2016 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite use?
Its 2016 site energy-use intensity was 171.7 kBtu/ft² (312.7 kBtu/ft² source) across 425,940 sq ft, including 7,904,502 kWh of electricity and 461,816 therms of natural gas.
What are Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite's carbon emissions?
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite reported 7,424 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (17.4 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2016.
Where is Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite?
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite is at 511 North Columbus Drive, in Chicago, Illinois 60611. Its coordinates are 41.89143, -87.61969 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite and when was it built?
Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite has 425,940 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2016 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2001 as its year built. It is classed as hotel.
Is Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2016 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, “Chicago-Downtown/Lakefront Embassy Suite, Chicago, Illinois — 2016 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/chicago-downtown-lakefront-embassy-suite-a4dc5c20 (data as of October 2, 2026).