At a glance
Seventy East is a 154,373-square-foot office building at 70 E. Lake Street in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1927. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 82 out of 100 (grade B), a site energy-use intensity of 37.8 kBtu/ft² and 816 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 73% of the 320 scored office buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 82 (band B) |
| Site EUI | 37.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 105.8 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 816 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.3 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 1,709,894 kWh |
| Water use | 865 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 154,373 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:156731:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 82 | +6 | 37.8 kBtu/ft² | 816 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 76 | -3 | 43.5 kBtu/ft² | 885 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 79 | -14 | 40.8 kBtu/ft² | 899 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 93 | +2 | 27.2 kBtu/ft² | 656 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 91 | +20 | 30.1 kBtu/ft² | 774 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 71 | -17 | 42.4 kBtu/ft² | 1,090 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 88 | -1 | 41.3 kBtu/ft² | 1,178 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 89 | -1 | 45.6 kBtu/ft² | 1,232 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 90 | 43.3 kBtu/ft² | 1,275 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
- 70 E. Lake Street
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60601
- Coordinates
- 41.88117, -87.68138
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 181 West Madisonscore 76
Office · 1,082,248 sq ft
- Old Malcolm X Collegescore —
College/University · 541,575 sq ft
- The Cooper (th110, co020)score 79
Multifamily Housing · 441,369 sq ft
- 3430-40 N Lake Shorescore 61
Multifamily Housing · 363,424 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 279,351 sq ft
- 1922 W Ogden Avescore 100
Multifamily Housing · 258,445 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Seventy East compare with other office buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 387 office buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Seventy East's ENERGY STAR score of 82 compares with an average of 69 across the 320 that report a score; it scores higher than 73% of them and lower than 25%. Its site EUI of 37.8 kBtu/ft² is about half of 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 5.3 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 29% below the group average of 7.5 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 154,373 sq ft, it is about 68% below the average floor area of 488,124 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1927, 29 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 Seventy East's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Seventy East, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 90 in 2015 to 82 in 2023 (-8 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 93. Site EUI moved from 43.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 37.8 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 13% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,275 tCO₂e to 816 tCO₂e over the same span (down 36%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 82 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 82 means the building performs better than about 82% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 82 falls in band B — above median (70–84). 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. Seventy East's 37.8 kBtu/ft² across 154,373 sq ft works out to about 5.8 billion Btu (1,710 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 105.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,709,894 kWh of electricity and 865 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Seventy East to report its energy use?
Seventy East 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:156731:2023). 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
- Association House of Chicago· 153,229 sq ft · score 76 (B)
- 100 North La Salle Street· 151,768 sq ft · score 78 (B)
- 770 N. Halsted St.· 151,252 sq ft · score 64 (C)
- 325 West Huron Street· 150,246 sq ft · score 86 (A)
- Bradley Business Center I· 150,000 sq ft · EUI 126.0 kBtu/ft²
- The Boyce Building· 149,011 sq ft · score 61 (C)
- 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 Seventy East's energy grade?
Seventy East scores 82 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band B, above median (70–84) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Seventy East use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 37.8 kBtu/ft² (105.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 154,373 sq ft, including 1,709,894 kWh of electricity.
What are Seventy East's carbon emissions?
Seventy East reported 816 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.3 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Seventy East?
Seventy East is at 70 E. Lake Street, in Chicago, Illinois 60601. Its coordinates are 41.88117, -87.68138 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Seventy East and when was it built?
Seventy East has 154,373 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1927 as its year built. It is classed as office.
Is Seventy East 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, “Seventy East, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/seventy-east-c1fbfd52 (data as of October 2, 2026).