Columbia Explorers
K-12 School in Chicago, IL · 4520 S Kedzie Ave · 60632
At a glance
Columbia Explorers is a 90,500-square-foot K-12 school at 4520 S Kedzie Ave in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2001. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 19 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 74.3 kBtu/ft² and 685 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 18% 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 | 19 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 74.3 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 151.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 685 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.6 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 1,107,530 kWh |
| Natural gas | 29,478 therms |
| Gross floor area | 90,500 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:251555:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 19 | -21 | 74.3 kBtu/ft² | 685 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 40 | +16 | 68.3 kBtu/ft² | 698 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 24 | -10 | 79.2 kBtu/ft² | 721 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 34 | 71.9 kBtu/ft² | 686 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | 67 | -8 | 52.8 kBtu/ft² | 684 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 75 | -2 | 57.9 kBtu/ft² | 791 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 77 | -5 | 52.6 kBtu/ft² | 777 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 82 | 50.2 kBtu/ft² | 777 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
- 4520 S Kedzie Ave
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60632
- Coordinates
- 41.83388, -87.65062
Within ~1 km
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- Three Sixty West Condosscore 93
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Columbia Explorers 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. Columbia Explorers's ENERGY STAR score of 19 compares with an average of 45 across the 365 that report a score; it scores higher than 18% of them and lower than 80%. Its site EUI of 74.3 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 72.7 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 7.6 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 23% above the group average of 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 90,500 sq ft, it is about 26% below the average floor area of 121,824 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2001, 58 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 Columbia Explorers's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Columbia Explorers, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 82 in 2015 to 19 in 2023 (-63 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 82. Site EUI moved from 50.2 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 74.3 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 48% increase. Reported emissions went from 777 tCO₂e to 685 tCO₂e over the same span (down 12%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 19 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 19 means the building performs better than about 19% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 19 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 56 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. Columbia Explorers's 74.3 kBtu/ft² across 90,500 sq ft works out to about 6.7 billion Btu (1,971 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 151.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,107,530 kWh of electricity and 29,478 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Columbia Explorers to report its energy use?
Columbia Explorers 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:251555:2023). 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
- Ogden ES Branch @ Jenner· 90,164 sq ft · score 44 (D)
- Henry· 90,100 sq ft · score 83 (B)
- Dawes· 90,061 sq ft · score 37 (D)
- Rogers· 89,910 sq ft · score 35 (D)
- Monarcas· 89,103 sq ft · score 11 (D)
- Polaris Charter Academy· 89,000 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- 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 Columbia Explorers's energy grade?
Columbia Explorers scores 19 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Columbia Explorers use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 74.3 kBtu/ft² (151.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 90,500 sq ft, including 1,107,530 kWh of electricity and 29,478 therms of natural gas.
What are Columbia Explorers's carbon emissions?
Columbia Explorers reported 685 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.6 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Columbia Explorers?
Columbia Explorers is at 4520 S Kedzie Ave, in Chicago, Illinois 60632. Its coordinates are 41.83388, -87.65062 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Columbia Explorers and when was it built?
Columbia Explorers has 90,500 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2001 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is Columbia Explorers 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, “Columbia Explorers, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/columbia-explorers-19fd474e (data as of October 2, 2026).