Poulsbo's Eliason Building, more than a century old, will soon be renovated

POULSBO — The Eliason Building overlooks Front Street, its history stretching back more than a century. Beginning next summer, plans call for major renovations to the old three-story structure and a companion building next door in a project that will give the southern entryway into Poulsbo’s downtown a new look.

Designs for the two buildings have 7,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, a 2,000-square-foot café, five housing units and additional parking on Third Avenue. The buildings will be updated, freshened up and given new facades. A grassy area near the buildings will be turned into a small public gathering space.

The project is being planned by Poulsbo residents Kelly and Marnie Clark, who bought the old buildings in 2020. Adding the residential spaces helped to make the project work financially, Kelly Clark said.

“I just want to do our part of helping to make Front Street look nicer and nicer,” he said. “Now that we can do a little bit of housing with this, really helps. We don’t want to charge too much for the rental space for retail, because it pushes the small people out.”

Clark said initially he had considered demolition and starting over at the site but said Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson had asked him to revitalize the space instead. He agreed.

“Our goal is to try to keep the overall shape of the building,” Clark said. “It’s not the most attractive building in the world, but we’re going to try to dress it up a little bit … and still kind of keep the Scandinavian feel.”

Clark said construction would begin next summer.

More: Poulsbo's Hotel Scandi restores Front Street space to its historic use

The Eliason Building bears the family name of Jorgen Eliason, known as the community’s first permanent settler. According to Poulsbo Historical Society curator Judy Driscoll, records show the building under construction in 1906 and a general store run by Jorgen's son E. J. Eliason occupying the building that same year.

Remarkably, the structure has survived the years since then, notably managing to escape a large fire in 1914 that destroyed several businesses in the downtown area.

For about a century, the building was home to a Masonic Lodge. Driscoll said space was given to the lodge in 1920, and Clark noted that the lodge moved out in 2020. Many businesses have called the building home over the years, among them the Eliason General Store and Fountain, Wallace Jewelry, Kitsap County Co-operative Grocery and Clothing stores and Montgomery Ward, Driscoll said.

Nathan Pilling is a reporter covering Bainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferries for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.

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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Historical downtown Poulsbo buildings to be renovated next summer