YOUNGSTOWN — Ohio Edison plans to move its Youngstown Service Center from South Avenue to an industrial building on Performance Place by the end of 2024, according to a spokeswoman with the power provider.

The electric company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy in Akron, bought the more than 153,000-square-foot building at 1100 Performance Place for $9.1 million from Texas Industrial LLC, according to a property transfer with the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office.

The building where the center is located now — built in 1936 — has served the company well for many years, “but is ready for an upgrade,” FirstEnergy spokeswoman Lauren Siburkis said.

“The decision to buy the new property was based on the logistical and financial challenges of demolishing the current building and constructing a new one,” Siburkis said. The property’s exterior and interior will be retrofit to meet FirstEnergy’s standards.

“Plans are being developed, and construction is expected to start this year,” Siburkis said.

The center is the reporting location for nearly 200 Youngstown-area line workers, operations personnel, engineers, job designers, meter readers, meter service and other employees. It’s planned to move them all to the new location on Performance Place, which is about 1 mile from the South Avenue center, Siburkis said.

Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems Inc., an affiliate of Texas-based oilfield services company Weatherford International, acquired the building for $3.4 million in 2012, according to the auditor’s office.

According to The Vindicator archives, Weatherford intended to open a multipurpose operations facility for a variety of products and services, including well-drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention. The plan was to employ about 150 workers.

The property on Performance Place was picked, in part, for its location in the Utica Shale and easy access to its location, but the natural gas and oil boom never really took off and the company eventually sold the building for $3.1 million to Texas Industrial LLC in August 2022.

OTHER CENTER

Meanwhile, construction on a $9.6 million operations service center in North Jackson is on track for completion by the end of the year, Siburkis said.

The facility, being built by FirstEnergy subsidiary American Transmission Systems Inc., will streamline operations within the local high-voltage system, according to the company. The facility has 20,000 square feet on 10 acres on Bailey Court East.

It will be the central location for about 12 transmission line workers based in the Mahoning Valley, and also will have room for offices and storage. The project also includes a new 15,000-square-foot storage facility next to the service center that will be used to house large transmission equipment, including transformers, power lines and insulators.

American Transmission Systems Inc. provides transmission services in Ohio and in a portion of western of Pennsylvania. The company owns or maintains more than 8,100 miles of transmission lines, substations and other facilities.