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Honeydew in Chicago

Everything we manage for a Chicago building.

Compliance is how most clients meet us. Verification, supply where the market allows it, solar screening and bill auditing are why they stay.

No obligation. We will tell you if you do not need us.
What we run in Chicago
Compliance Annual benchmarking 50,000 sq ft and up, filed with the City of Chicago.
Deadline June 1, annual The web services share is set up once and then carries forward.
Verification Required Chicago requires data verification on a three-year cycle for covered buildings.
Energy supply and procurement Deregulated Illinois has retail choice on electricity and gas.

Dates and thresholds change. We confirm the current requirement for your specific building before anyone acts on it.

How the pieces fit together in Chicago.

A covered building in Chicago is dealing with an annual filing, a set of local rules that change more often than anyone expects, and a capital plan that has to satisfy an owner or a board. Handled separately, those generate vendors who do not talk to each other.

We are the accountable partner across all of it. We are not engineers and we do not pretend to be. We make sense of the rules, verify the data, bring in the right specialists, and give the building a plan it can act on.

The practical benefit is that the data gets built once. The same verified floor area and clean utility record that drives your compliance position also drives a supply bid, an incentive application, or a solar screening.

Local detail that changes the answer
The questionnaire matters here
Chicago posts a public zero to four star placard driven by the ENERGY STAR score, so space-type characteristics move a number the public sees. This is the opposite of intensity-metric jurisdictions.
A one-time web services share
The city connection is set up once through Portfolio Manager web services and then carries forward, which is simpler than an annual portal upload.
Verification every three years
Data verification runs on a three-year cycle, so it needs to be in the calendar rather than discovered.
The services behind this page

How we start

Deadline work first. Everything else on your schedule.

1
Position review
Coverage, current data, floor area, and what is outstanding.
2
Close the compliance gap
Filings, verification where it applies, and any notice response.
3
Review energy supply and procurement
Rate class, contract end dates, and whether competitively bidding your energy supply makes sense this year.
4
Screen the opportunities
Incentives, solar, audits, and measures that also improve the compliance position.
5
Manage it forward
One point of contact, one set of numbers, and reminders that arrive before the deadline.
Why now

A public star rating, and a score you can actually influence.

Chicago publishes a zero to four star placard based on the ENERGY STAR score. That is a public-facing number attached to your building, and unlike an intensity metric it responds to how accurately the space types and operating characteristics are entered.

Which is why we complete the questionnaire carefully here rather than skipping it. In score-driven jurisdictions that work pays for itself.

Received a letter?

What a Chicago notice usually means.

Chicago communicates through the city benchmarking programme, and most letters are one of two things.

Send us the letter
Benchmarking notification or non-compliance
The annual June 1 filing is due or missing. The web services share to the city account is persistent, so a missing filing is usually a data problem rather than a portal problem.
Verification reminder
Your building is in a verification year on the three-year cycle. It needs to be scheduled rather than discovered.

Send us the letter itself, not a summary. We read it for the six things that decide the response: who sent it, which building and identifier it names, what period it covers, what it says you failed to do, the cure date, and whether it is a first notice or an escalation. We never quote a running penalty total, and we cure first, then talk to the regulator.

Why Honeydew in Chicago

One relationship across twenty-six jurisdictions, with local rules tracked rather than assumed.

One accountable partner
We are not engineers and we do not pretend to be. We manage the process, coordinate the right vendors, and own the outcome.
We read the primary sources
Twenty-six jurisdictions, each with its own portal, deadline and enforcement style. We work from the ordinance, the regulator’s FAQ and the covered building list, not from last year’s memory.
Credentialed
Certified Energy Manager on staff, Portfolio Manager specialists, and the credentials the verification work requires.
Built for boards
Most of our clients are condo and co-op boards and the managers who serve them. We present in plain English, on your meeting schedule.
Owners and managers we work with
FirstService Residential Legum & Norman EJF Real Estate Services Comsource Management Barkan Management Howard University Regency Centers Montgomery County Green Bank

Questions about each of these services

With whatever has a date on it. Usually that is the filing or the standard, and the supply and advisory work follows once the compliance position is clean. We would rather earn the second engagement than bundle it.

Yes, and we do it constantly. A clear thirty-minute presentation is often what unlocks a decision.

Because the public rating runs on the ENERGY STAR score, and the score depends on space-type characteristics like operating hours and worker density. In jurisdictions that grade on energy intensity, those inputs do not move the number.

Covered buildings verify on a three-year cycle. We track which year each building falls in so it is scheduled rather than discovered late.

No. Delivery and metering do not change, so the data continues to flow the same way.

Keep reading

The pages that usually matter next for a Chicago building.

Annual filing Benchmarking in Chicago The annual filing, what is reported, and how we keep the record clean. Third-party Verification in Chicago Third-party data verification and the square footage work that moves every number. Supply strategy Procurement in Chicago Where competitive supply is actually available, and where it is not.
What is BEPS? All Honeydew services Every region we serve Latest rule changes on the blog

One call, and you will know where you stand.

Coverage, deadlines, and what is worth doing first. No obligation.

202-670-9625 Send us the address
Start with the building

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A notice, a deadline, a portfolio, or simply a question. You do not need to have it organized before you call.

202-670-9625
Monday to Friday, and yes, a person answers.

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