At a glance
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower is a 377,000-square-foot hotel at 20 East Chestnut in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2002. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 12 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 140.0 kBtu/ft² and 4,895 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 10% of the 77 scored hotel buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 12 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 140.0 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 258.8 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 4,895 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 13.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 7,061,847 kWh |
| Natural gas | 286,732 therms |
| Water use | 7,365 kgal |
| Gross floor area | 377,000 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:159099:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 12 | -1 | 140.0 kBtu/ft² | 4,895 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 13 | 145.9 kBtu/ft² | 4,828 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | 25 | +9 | 133.6 kBtu/ft² | 4,690 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 16 | +1 | 147.2 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 15 | +2 | 146.9 kBtu/ft² | 5,754 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 13 | -4 | 145.4 kBtu/ft² | 6,115 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 17 | +3 | 151.4 kBtu/ft² | 6,406 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 14 | 159.1 kBtu/ft² | 6,992 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
- 20 East Chestnut
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60611
- Coordinates
- 41.70197, -87.64769
Within ~1 km
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- 415 Condominium Associationscore 93
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- The Van Buren _CO (th202)score 9
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Sofitel Chicago Water Tower compare with other hotel buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 88 hotel buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's ENERGY STAR score of 12 compares with an average of 51 across the 77 that report a score; it scores higher than 10% of them and lower than 88%. Its site EUI of 140.0 kBtu/ft² is about 27% above the average of 110.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 13.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 29% above the group average of 10.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 377,000 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 343,808 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2002, 23 years later than the group's average year built (1979). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 3,812 hotel buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 65 and a site EUI of 77.8 kBtu/ft².
How has Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 14 in 2015 to 12 in 2023 (-2 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 25. Site EUI moved from 159.1 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 140.0 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 12% decrease. Reported emissions went from 6,992 tCO₂e to 4,895 tCO₂e over the same span (down 30%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 12 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 12 means the building performs better than about 12% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 12 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 63 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. Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's 140.0 kBtu/ft² across 377,000 sq ft works out to about 52.8 billion Btu (15,468 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 258.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 7,061,847 kWh of electricity, 286,732 therms of natural gas and 7,365 thousand gallons of water for the year.
Which law requires Sofitel Chicago Water Tower to report its energy use?
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower 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:159099:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More hotel buildings in Chicago
- Hiltons at McCormick Place· 362,462 sq ft · EUI 86.7 kBtu/ft²
- The Gwen Hotel· 360,000 sq ft · score 92 (A)
- SpringHill Suites - Residence Inn· 353,000 sq ft · score 49 (D)
- 57F47-CHIRL-Residence Inn Chicago DTLoop· 350,682 sq ft · score 93 (A)
- Clargran· 343,240 sq ft · score 19 (D)
- N. Jefferson Chicago West Loop Hotel· 332,424 sq ft · score 97 (A)
- Hotel buildings in Chicago· 88 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 Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's energy grade?
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower scores 12 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 Sofitel Chicago Water Tower use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 140.0 kBtu/ft² (258.8 kBtu/ft² source) across 377,000 sq ft, including 7,061,847 kWh of electricity and 286,732 therms of natural gas.
What are Sofitel Chicago Water Tower's carbon emissions?
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower reported 4,895 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (13.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Sofitel Chicago Water Tower?
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower is at 20 East Chestnut, in Chicago, Illinois 60611. Its coordinates are 41.70197, -87.64769 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Sofitel Chicago Water Tower and when was it built?
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower has 377,000 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2002 as its year built. It is classed as hotel.
Is Sofitel Chicago Water Tower 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, “Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/sofitel-chicago-water-tower-8c93e699 (data as of October 2, 2026).