A new light has been cast on the Chase Bank in downtown Youngstown – due in part to work by “Joe” Dickey Electric.
The branch moved to the ground floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton at the corner of Market and E. Federal St. and opened in March.
The bank’s old home was across the street inside the former Realty Building – which had to be torn down following a gas explosion in May 2024 that killed one person and injured several others.
“It was all wide open when we got here,” said Dave McGoogan, foreman, Dickey Electric. “There was just an empty room.”
Dickey collaborated with Marsula Electric, a Pittsburgh area contractor, which handles Chase projects across the region. Dickey was called in to help since the company had already done some work before at the DoubleTree.
Tight spaces, smart wiring
With pressure to meet deadlines, McGoogan and his team of electricians spent three months running wire. It’s not a big location, so they had to plan carefully and work with precision.
“It’s a small footprint. Every inch of space had to be used wisely. Every piece of conduit had to be thought through,” he said.
Power had to be rerouted from the hotel’s electrical system into the bank. Two, 200-amp breakers were pulled from one of the hotel’s main panels.
From there, electronic meters were installed so the amount of power can be tracked.
“They help split the usage. That way, the hotel knows exactly how much power is going into the bank and can account for it.”
Another challenging aspect of the job – there was no straight line between where the electricity started and where it needed to end up. Electricians had to work around elevators, stairwells and cramped mechanical rooms.
“It was tricky in some spots. We had to come up with a route through tight ceilings and packed walls. And when you’re pulling wire through a bunch of bends, it starts to fight you.”
To manage it, they installed pull boxes along the route, small access points that made it possible to pull wire in sections. Without them, the friction from all the turns could have damaged the conduit or made the task impossible.
True blue finish
Although McGoogan was leading the job for Dickey, he praised second-year apprentice Tom Plummer for his contributions.
“He’s a great worker and does a great job. He’s also one of my students at the Youngstown JATC.”
Plummer helped with a wide range of tasks, including one of the most visual parts of the project, the blue lighting around the top edge of the building.
“It’s a nice highlight. When you go past the building at night, you can see the blue glow, which looks really sharp.”
The branch also features an ATM and night drop for after-hours use. What was once an empty corner of a hotel is now home to a functioning, modern bank.
“It’s good to help bring something back after what happened at the Realty Building,” McGoogan said.
Dickey Electric is a member contractor of NECA-IBEW Electricians, an association consisting of IBEW Local 64 in Youngstown, IBEW Local 573 in Warren and signatory electrical contractors throughout the Mahoning Valley.