At a glance
Rice Building is a 80,610-square-foot office building at 815 W Van Buren in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1910. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 58 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 71.0 kBtu/ft² and 567 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 23% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 58 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 71.0 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 140.3 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 567 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 887,443 kWh |
| Natural gas | 26,926 therms |
| Water use | 1,161 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 80,610 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:156576:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 58 | ±0 | 71.0 kBtu/ft² | 567 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 58 | -2 | 77.6 kBtu/ft² | 555 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 60 | -35 | 72.7 kBtu/ft² | 561 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 95 | +2 | 44.4 kBtu/ft² | 259 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 93 | +5 | 51.3 kBtu/ft² | 296 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 88 | ±0 | 49.5 kBtu/ft² | 315 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 88 | +34 | 58.8 kBtu/ft² | 505 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 54 | -2 | 87.4 kBtu/ft² | 815 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 56 | 86.4 kBtu/ft² | 849 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
- 815 W Van Buren
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60607
- Coordinates
- 41.93958, -87.66938
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- The Art Institute of Chicagoscore —
Museum · 1,008,416 sq ft
- The Catalystscore 39
Multifamily Housing · 255,042 sq ft
- Back of the Yards HSscore 11
K-12 School · 212,285 sq ft
- 450 W Belmontscore —
Building · 171,882 sq ft
- 2555 North Clarkscore 21
Multifamily Housing · 151,339 sq ft
- 2501 N Elston Avenuescore 6
Vehicle Dealership · 146,000 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Rice Building compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Rice Building's ENERGY STAR score of 58 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 23% of them and lower than 74%. Its site EUI of 71.0 kBtu/ft² is roughly in line with the average of 70.4 kBtu/ft². Its emissions intensity of 7.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 80,610 sq ft, it is about 83% below the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1910, 46 years earlier 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 Rice Building's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Rice Building, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 56 in 2015 to 58 in 2023 (+2 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 95. Site EUI moved from 86.4 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 71.0 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 18% decrease. Reported emissions went from 849 tCO₂e to 567 tCO₂e over the same span (down 33%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 58 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 58 means the building performs better than about 58% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 58 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 17 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. Rice Building's 71.0 kBtu/ft² across 80,610 sq ft works out to about 5.7 billion Btu (1,677 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 140.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 887,443 kWh of electricity, 26,926 therms of natural gas and 1,161 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Rice Building to report its energy use?
Rice Building 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:156576:2023). 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
- Lightner Building· 80,000 sq ft · score 92 (A)
- 601 South LaSalle· 80,000 sq ft · EUI 41.9 kBtu/ft²
- 240 N Ashland Avenue· 80,000 sq ft · score 76 (B)
- 57 63 W Grand Ave· 78,868 sq ft · score 49 (D)
- 750 N Orleans Street· 78,800 sq ft · score 55 (C)
- 130 S Jefferson· 78,794 sq ft · EUI 79.7 kBtu/ft²
- 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 Rice Building's energy grade?
Rice Building scores 58 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 Rice Building use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 71.0 kBtu/ft² (140.3 kBtu/ft² source) across 80,610 sq ft, including 887,443 kWh of electricity and 26,926 therms of natural gas.
What are Rice Building's carbon emissions?
Rice Building reported 567 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Rice Building?
Rice Building is at 815 W Van Buren, in Chicago, Illinois 60607. Its coordinates are 41.93958, -87.66938 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Rice Building and when was it built?
Rice Building has 80,610 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1910 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Rice Building 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, “Rice Building, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/rice-building-b167abb9 (data as of October 2, 2026).