Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments
Multifamily Housing in Chicago, IL · 4227 S. Oakenwald Ave · 60653
At a glance
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments is a 102,424-square-foot multifamily housing building at 4227 S. Oakenwald Ave in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1963. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 36 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 96.8 kBtu/ft² and 703 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 19% 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 | 36 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 96.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 136.4 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 703 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 6.9 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 596,264 kWh |
| Natural gas | 78,809 therms |
| Gross floor area | 102,424 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:250109:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 36 | -2 | 96.8 kBtu/ft² | 703 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 38 | 107.5 kBtu/ft² | 743 tCO₂e | |
| 2021 | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | 26 | 113.2 kBtu/ft² | 828 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | 33 | +22 | 112.7 kBtu/ft² | 853 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 11 | -34 | 131.0 kBtu/ft² | 1,010 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 45 | 92.8 kBtu/ft² | 817 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
- 4227 S. Oakenwald Ave
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60653
- Coordinates
- 41.76620, -87.56291
Within ~1 km
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How does Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments 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. Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments's ENERGY STAR score of 36 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 19% of them and lower than 80%. Its site EUI of 96.8 kBtu/ft² is about 34% above the average of 72.0 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 6.9 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 19% above the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 102,424 sq ft, it is about half of the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1963, 8 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 Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 8 Chicago disclosures for Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments, covering report years 2016–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 45 in 2016 to 36 in 2023 (-9 points); its best year on file was 2016, at 45. Site EUI moved from 92.8 kBtu/ft² (2016) to 96.8 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 4% increase. Reported emissions went from 817 tCO₂e to 703 tCO₂e over the same span (down 14%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 36 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 36 means the building performs better than about 36% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 36 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 39 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. Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments's 96.8 kBtu/ft² across 102,424 sq ft works out to about 9.9 billion Btu (2,906 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 136.4 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 596,264 kWh of electricity and 78,809 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments to report its energy use?
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments 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:250109:2023). 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
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Frequently asked questions
What is Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments's energy grade?
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments scores 36 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 Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 96.8 kBtu/ft² (136.4 kBtu/ft² source) across 102,424 sq ft, including 596,264 kWh of electricity and 78,809 therms of natural gas.
What are Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments's carbon emissions?
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments reported 703 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (6.9 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments?
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments is at 4227 S. Oakenwald Ave, in Chicago, Illinois 60653. Its coordinates are 41.76620, -87.56291 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments and when was it built?
Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments has 102,424 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1963 as its year built. It is classed as multifamily housing.
Is Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments 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, “Vivian Gordon Harsh Apartments, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/vivian-gordon-harsh-apartments-51748025 (data as of October 2, 2026).