Tower Lofts Condo
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 1601 West School Street · 60657
At a glance
Tower Lofts Condo is a 176,062-square-foot multifamily housing building at 1601 West School Street in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1915. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 68 out of 100 (grade C), a site energy-use intensity of 61.0 kBtu/ft² and 990 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 52% of the 1,472 scored multifamily housing buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 68 (band C) |
| Site EUI | 61.0 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 112.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 990 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 1,416,771 kWh |
| Natural gas | 59,039 therms |
| Gross floor area | 176,062 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:175472:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 68 | -6 | 61.0 kBtu/ft² | 990 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 74 | +2 | 64.9 kBtu/ft² | 1,011 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 72 | +4 | 64.4 kBtu/ft² | 1,041 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 68 | +20 | 66.5 kBtu/ft² | 1,130 tCO₂e |
| 2019 | 48 | +9 | 78.0 kBtu/ft² | — |
| 2018 | 39 | +20 | 82.7 kBtu/ft² | 1,496 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 19 | -18 | 79.2 kBtu/ft² | 1,708 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 37 | 62.3 kBtu/ft² | 1,581 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
- 1601 West School Street
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60657
- Coordinates
- 41.86299, -87.71301
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Tower Lofts Condo compare with other multifamily housing buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 1,515 multifamily housing buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Tower Lofts Condo's ENERGY STAR score of 68 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 52% of them and lower than 47%. Its site EUI of 61.0 kBtu/ft² is about 15% below the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 5.6 kgCO₂e/ft² is roughly in line with the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 176,062 sq ft, it is about 15% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1915, 56 years earlier than the group's average year built (1971). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 59,945 multifamily housing buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 70 and a site EUI of 59.0 kBtu/ft².
How has Tower Lofts Condo's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for Tower Lofts Condo, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 37 in 2016 to 68 in 2023 (+31 points); its best year on file was 2022, at 74. Site EUI moved from 62.3 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 61.0 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 2% decrease. Reported emissions went from 1,581 tCO₂e to 990 tCO₂e over the same span (down 37%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 68 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 68 means the building performs better than about 68% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 68 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 7 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. Tower Lofts Condo's 61.0 kBtu/ft² across 176,062 sq ft works out to about 10.7 billion Btu (3,148 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 112.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,416,771 kWh of electricity and 59,039 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Tower Lofts Condo to report its energy use?
Tower Lofts Condo 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:175472:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More multifamily housing buildings in Chicago
- Cloisters· 176,046 sq ft · score 64 (C)
- Michigan Beach Apartments· 175,950 sq ft · score 24 (D)
- 1345 S. Wabash Condominium Association· 175,500 sq ft · score 81 (B)
- Fulton House Condominium Association· 175,456 sq ft · score 55 (C)
- 1448 North Lake Shore Drive Building Corporation· 175,440 sq ft · score 74 (B)
- The Barry Condominium, Inc.· 175,279 sq ft · score 91 (A)
- Multifamily Housing buildings in Chicago· 1,515 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 Tower Lofts Condo's energy grade?
Tower Lofts Condo scores 68 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 Tower Lofts Condo use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 61.0 kBtu/ft² (112.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 176,062 sq ft, including 1,416,771 kWh of electricity and 59,039 therms of natural gas.
What are Tower Lofts Condo's carbon emissions?
Tower Lofts Condo reported 990 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (5.6 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Tower Lofts Condo?
Tower Lofts Condo is at 1601 West School Street, in Chicago, Illinois 60657. Its coordinates are 41.86299, -87.71301 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Tower Lofts Condo and when was it built?
Tower Lofts Condo has 176,062 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1915 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is Tower Lofts Condo 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, “Tower Lofts Condo, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/tower-lofts-condo-f0286330 (data as of October 2, 2026).