Vue53

How does Vue53 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. Vue53's ENERGY STAR score of 47 compares with an average of 62 across the 1,472 that report a score; it scores higher than 28% of them and lower than 70%. Its site EUI of 97.0 kBtu/ft² is about 35% 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 8.7 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 50% above the group average of 5.8 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 162,625 sq ft, it is about 21% below the average floor area of 206,097 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2016, 45 years later 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 Vue53's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 7 Chicago disclosures for Vue53, covering report years 2017–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 96 in 2017 to 47 in 2023 (-49 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 96. Site EUI moved from 57.2 kBtu/ft² (2017) to 97.0 kBtu/ft² (2023), an 70% increase. Reported emissions went from 1,450 tCO₂e to 1,416 tCO₂e over the same span (down 2%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 47 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 47 means the building performs better than about 47% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 47 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 28 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. Vue53's 97.0 kBtu/ft² across 162,625 sq ft works out to about 15.8 billion Btu (4,623 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 173.5 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 1,951,798 kWh of electricity, 91,117 therms of natural gas and 5,705 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires Vue53 to report its energy use?

Vue53 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:255012:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.