CICS Northtown
K-12 School in Chicago, IL · 3900 W. Peterson Ave. · 60659
At a glance
CICS Northtown is a 124,443-square-foot K-12 school at 3900 W. Peterson Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1964. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 55 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 75.5 kBtu/ft² and 667 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 64% of the 365 scored K-12 school buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 55 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 75.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 106.5 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 667 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.4 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 568,770 kWh |
| Natural gas | 74,513 therms |
| Gross floor area | 124,443 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:164460:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 55 | -5 | 75.5 kBtu/ft² | 667 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 60 | +4 | 79.2 kBtu/ft² | 677 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 56 | -24 | 82.5 kBtu/ft² | 705 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 80 | -3 | 61.2 kBtu/ft² | 546 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 83 | +18 | 60.8 kBtu/ft² | 596 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 65 | -4 | 80.1 kBtu/ft² | 761 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 69 | -3 | 72.2 kBtu/ft² | 749 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 72 | 68.2 kBtu/ft² | 746 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.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 3900 W. Peterson Ave.
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60659
- Coordinates
- 41.86681, -87.66169
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does CICS Northtown compare with other K-12 school buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 543 K-12 school buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. CICS Northtown's ENERGY STAR score of 55 compares with an average of 45 across the 365 that report a score; it scores higher than 64% of them and lower than 33%. Its site EUI of 75.5 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 72.7 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 5.4 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 13% below the group average of 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 124,443 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 121,824 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1964, 21 years later than the group's average year built (1943). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².
How has CICS Northtown's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for CICS Northtown, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 72 in 2016 to 55 in 2023 (-17 points); its best year on file was 2019, at 83. Site EUI moved from 68.2 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 75.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 11% increase. Reported emissions went from 746 tCO₂e to 667 tCO₂e over the same span (down 11%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 55 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 55 means the building performs better than about 55% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 55 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 20 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. CICS Northtown's 75.5 kBtu/ft² across 124,443 sq ft works out to about 9.4 billion Btu (2,754 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 106.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 568,770 kWh of electricity and 74,513 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires CICS Northtown to report its energy use?
CICS Northtown 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:164460:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More K-12 school buildings in Chicago
- Davis N· 121,557 sq ft · score 7 (D)
- Darwin· 121,241 sq ft · score 60 (C)
- Monroe· 120,199 sq ft · score 45 (D)
- Hayt· 118,800 sq ft · score 29 (D)
- Belmont-Cragin Northwest· 118,211 sq ft · score 64 (C)
- Everett McKinley Dirksen Elementary School· 117,939 sq ft · score 27 (D)
- K-12 School buildings in Chicago· 543 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 CICS Northtown's energy grade?
CICS Northtown scores 55 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band C, below median (55–69) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does CICS Northtown use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 75.5 kBtu/ft² (106.5 kBtu/ft² source) across 124,443 sq ft, including 568,770 kWh of electricity and 74,513 therms of natural gas.
What are CICS Northtown's carbon emissions?
CICS Northtown reported 667 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.4 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is CICS Northtown?
CICS Northtown is at 3900 W. Peterson Ave., in Chicago, Illinois 60659. Its coordinates are 41.86681, -87.66169 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is CICS Northtown and when was it built?
CICS Northtown has 124,443 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1964 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is CICS Northtown 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, “CICS Northtown, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/cics-northtown-b27d32da (data as of October 2, 2026).