The Grand Opening of Fidelity Bank’s new Corporate Center in the historic Scranton Electric Building
Insights from Layer X Principal, Michele Dempsey, AIA | LEED AP
Last Friday, Governor Josh Shapiro joined Fidelity Bank leadership, state and local officials and community leaders to celebrate the Grand Opening of Fidelity Bank Corporate Center.
I watched from across the country, where I was with my son and exactly where I needed to be, although it was one of those rare moments when I wished I could be in two places at once.
As I watched, I kept thinking about everything the cameras couldn’t capture. Nearly four years of decisions, surprises, problems solved and people working together to get to that moment.
Fidelity saw what this building could become
Fidelity wasn’t simply looking for new offices. Dan Santaniello, the Fidelity team and its board saw an opportunity to give an important Scranton landmark a meaningful new purpose while creating a Corporate Center that could serve the bank well into the future.
Four years ago, our team at Layer X and our architectural collaborators at Krieger Architects walked into the mostly empty Scranton Electric Building and started figuring out how to make that happen.
The building was magnificent, historic and full of character. It was also 130 years old, had endured years of deferred maintenance and, as we would soon discover, had apparently spent a good portion of its life saving up surprises for us.
Then came thousands of decisions
Some decisions meant spending a weekend running between paint stores, becoming a part-time chemist to match stain to historic wood. Others meant tracking down the original quarry so broken and gouged marble could be replaced with the same stone. Before new glass walls could go in, every floor had to be digitally mapped and leveled because a century of settling doesn’t particularly care about a modern design.
There were thousands more involving preservation, building systems, budgets, operations, construction and design. We had to decide what to preserve, what to change, where to invest, where to compromise and where absolutely not to.
Most of those decisions will never be noticed. That’s the point. The real challenge was making sure they added up to the place Fidelity set out to create.
You need the right people beside you
Our Layer X team worked hand in hand with Krieger Architects throughout the project. Adam Jacob brought tremendous intelligence, architectural expertise and care to every challenge, while Jeff Krieger and the Krieger team were true collaborators from beginning to end.
LR Costanzo Construction turned years of decisions into reality. Our engineering partners at GPI and Reuther+Bowen, along with designers, consultants, vendors, craftspeople and many others, brought their expertise to a building that gave all of us plenty to think about.
Within Layer X, Corey Tilburg served as our project manager, bringing exceptional design talent and problem-solving to the work. His ability to bring people together when things got difficult, coupled with his unstoppable determination, helped carry this project across the finish line.
Four years is a long time to work through problems together. The people you do it with matter.
Trust gets tested along the way
Layer X’s relationship with Fidelity began roughly 20 years ago, long before any of us started talking about the Scranton Electric Building.
Over time, you learn much more about a client than what they need in a building. You learn how they make decisions, what they value and what matters enough that they won’t compromise. They learn the same about you.
People use the phrase “trusted partner” so often in business that it has almost lost its meaning. I think trust is much simpler.
Trust is built when things get hard and everyone keeps working together and showing up. We’ve been showing up for each other for over 20 years.
Some relationships span generations
My own connection to Fidelity goes back even further. My dad, Pat Dempsey, served on Fidelity’s board for decades, including many years as chairman. He was a mentor to Dan, a friend to many people around that board table and, certainly, a mentor to me. He loved Fidelity and Scranton, and he believed deeply in both.
I wish he could have seen Friday.
He would have appreciated the beautiful building, but I think he would have been much more interested in what it represents. Fidelity invested in its own future while making an equally meaningful investment in the future of downtown Scranton.
My dad would have understood the difference. The former is good business. The latter is legacy.
Then you get to cut the ribbon
Friday was the moment all of those years of work became something everyone could celebrate.
One hundred years from now, people may not remember our names, the problems hiding behind the walls or the thousands of decisions that got us to Friday, but they’ll still know and appreciate this building.
That’s one of the things I love most about architecture. We get to take something entrusted to us, make it better and leave it behind for someone else.
Congratulations to Dan Santaniello and the entire Fidelity Bank family. It took a lot to get to that ribbon cutting, but what you’ve created will leave a beautiful, indelible mark on this community.
Architecture isn’t only about what we build. It’s also about what we leave behind.
