At a glance
Presidents Plaza 1 is a 417,395-square-foot office building at 8600 West Bryn Mawr Ave in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1980. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 93 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 53.5 kBtu/ft² and 3,110 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 94% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 93 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 53.5 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 149.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 3,110 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 6,496,158 kWh |
| Natural gas | 1,557 therms |
| Gross floor area | 417,395 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:101679:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 93 | +12 | 53.5 kBtu/ft² | 3,110 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 81 | +14 | 64.1 kBtu/ft² | 3,503 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 67 | -12 | 55.1 kBtu/ft² | 3,260 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 79 | +14 | 56.7 kBtu/ft² | 3,668 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 65 | +5 | 73.1 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 60 | -16 | 75.7 kBtu/ft² | 5,227 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 76 | +10 | 74.6 kBtu/ft² | 5,719 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 66 | -10 | 94.2 kBtu/ft² | 7,209 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 76 | +1 | 81.6 kBtu/ft² | 6,799 tCO₂e |
| 2014 | 75 | 80.0 kBtu/ft² | 6,629 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
- 8600 West Bryn Mawr Ave
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60631
- Coordinates
- 41.96890, -87.67628
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 801 S Canal Stscore 88
Office · 680,000 sq ft
- 400 South Jefferson - OPIscore 97
Office · 275,487 sq ft
- Metropolisscore 34
Multifamily Housing · 218,624 sq ft
- Grand & Orleansscore 80
Multifamily Housing · 209,000 sq ft
- 450 W Belmont (wb008)score 94
Multifamily Housing · 171,882 sq ft
- The Covingtonscore 37
Multifamily Housing · 135,600 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Presidents Plaza 1 compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Presidents Plaza 1's ENERGY STAR score of 93 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 94% of them and lower than 5%. Its site EUI of 53.5 kBtu/ft² is about 24% below the average of 70.4 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 417,395 sq ft, it is about 14% below the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1980, 24 years later than the group's average year built (1957). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².
How has Presidents Plaza 1's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 10 Chicago disclosures for Presidents Plaza 1, covering report years 2014–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 75 in 2014 to 93 in 2023 (+18 points). Site EUI moved from 80.0 kBtu/ft² (2014) to 53.5 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 33% decrease. Reported emissions went from 6,629 tCO₂e to 3,110 tCO₂e over the same span (down 53%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 93 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 93 means the building performs better than about 93% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 93 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. Presidents Plaza 1's 53.5 kBtu/ft² across 417,395 sq ft works out to about 22.3 billion Btu (6,544 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 149.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 6,496,158 kWh of electricity and 1,557 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Presidents Plaza 1 to report its energy use?
Presidents Plaza 1 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:101679:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More office buildings in Chicago
- 224 South Michigan Avenue· 412,504 sq ft · score 87 (A)
- 33 North LaSalle Street· 411,612 sq ft · score 56 (C)
- City Hall, 121 N. La Salle St.· 411,500 sq ft · score 33 (D)
- 17 N. State LLC· 409,072 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- 1375 Fulton· 399,230 sq ft · score 67 (C)
- 211 E. Chicago Ave.· 394,230 sq ft · score 77 (B)
- Office buildings in Chicago· 387 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 Presidents Plaza 1's energy grade?
Presidents Plaza 1 scores 93 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 Presidents Plaza 1 use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 53.5 kBtu/ft² (149.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 417,395 sq ft, including 6,496,158 kWh of electricity and 1,557 therms of natural gas.
What are Presidents Plaza 1's carbon emissions?
Presidents Plaza 1 reported 3,110 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.5 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Presidents Plaza 1?
Presidents Plaza 1 is at 8600 West Bryn Mawr Ave, in Chicago, Illinois 60631. Its coordinates are 41.96890, -87.67628 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Presidents Plaza 1 and when was it built?
Presidents Plaza 1 has 417,395 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1980 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Presidents Plaza 1 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, “Presidents Plaza 1, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/presidents-plaza-1-bb86af99 (data as of October 2, 2026).