At a glance
The Gwen Hotel is a 360,000-square-foot hotel at 521 N Rush St in Chicago, Illinois, built in 2000. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 92 out of 100 (grade A), a site energy-use intensity of 52.1 kBtu/ft² and 2,149 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 94% of the 77 scored hotel buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 92 (band A) |
| Site EUI | 52.1 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 119.3 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 2,149 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 3,891,482 kWh |
| Natural gas | 54,872 therms |
| Gross floor area | 360,000 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:254080:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 92 | +10 | 52.1 kBtu/ft² | 2,149 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 82 | -12 | 83.3 kBtu/ft² | 2,727 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 94 | -5 | 69.5 kBtu/ft² | 2,236 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 99 | +41 | 50.1 kBtu/ft² | 1,820 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 58 | ±0 | 93.0 kBtu/ft² | 3,940 tCO₂e |
| 2018 | 58 | +9 | 93.4 kBtu/ft² | 3,991 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 49 | -23 | 92.3 kBtu/ft² | 4,157 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 72 | 85.3 kBtu/ft² | 3,129 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.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 521 N Rush St
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60611
- Coordinates
- 41.93543, -87.64345
Within ~1 km
Nearby benchmarked buildings
- 900 North Michiganscore —
Mixed Use Property · 2,136,748 sq ft
- One North Wackerscore 80
Office · 1,614,398 sq ft
- 300 North LaSallescore 71
Office · 1,506,959 sq ft
- 111 South Wackerscore 72
Office · 1,248,730 sq ft
Multifamily Housing · 1,193,624 sq ft
- Altgeld Gardensscore 12
Multifamily Housing · 1,182,400 sq ft
See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does The Gwen Hotel compare with other hotel buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 88 hotel buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. The Gwen Hotel's ENERGY STAR score of 92 compares with an average of 51 across the 77 that report a score; it scores higher than 94% of them and lower than 5%. Its site EUI of 52.1 kBtu/ft² is about half of the average of 110.1 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 6.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 41% below the group average of 10.1 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 360,000 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 343,808 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2000, 21 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 The Gwen Hotel's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for The Gwen Hotel, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 72 in 2016 to 92 in 2023 (+20 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 99. Site EUI moved from 85.3 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 52.1 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 39% decrease. Reported emissions went from 3,129 tCO₂e to 2,149 tCO₂e over the same span (down 31%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 92 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 92 means the building performs better than about 92% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 92 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. The Gwen Hotel's 52.1 kBtu/ft² across 360,000 sq ft works out to about 18.8 billion Btu (5,497 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 119.3 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 3,891,482 kWh of electricity and 54,872 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires The Gwen Hotel to report its energy use?
The Gwen Hotel 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:254080:2023). 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
- 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)
- Hilton Chicago MM Suites· 314,850 sq ft · score 52 (D)
- The Blackstone Hotel· 314,666 sq ft · score 46 (D)
- 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 The Gwen Hotel's energy grade?
The Gwen Hotel scores 92 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 The Gwen Hotel use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 52.1 kBtu/ft² (119.3 kBtu/ft² source) across 360,000 sq ft, including 3,891,482 kWh of electricity and 54,872 therms of natural gas.
What are The Gwen Hotel's carbon emissions?
The Gwen Hotel reported 2,149 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is The Gwen Hotel?
The Gwen Hotel is at 521 N Rush St, in Chicago, Illinois 60611. Its coordinates are 41.93543, -87.64345 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is The Gwen Hotel and when was it built?
The Gwen Hotel has 360,000 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 2000 as its year built. It is classed as hotel.
Is The Gwen Hotel 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.
Working with Chicago building benchmarking records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
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, “The Gwen Hotel, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/the-gwen-hotel-159ed8f8 (data as of October 2, 2026).