Kimco Plumbing Works to Renovate Historic Eliason Building

POULSBO, WA — Jorgen Eliason, a Norwegian immigrant and one of the original city founders of Poulsbo, built the Eliason Building back in 1908. More than 110 years later, the once-elegant building had fallen on hard times. It had become a patchwork of three different buildings with different finishes, all in various states of disrepair. Neglect was so bad there were calls to tear the entire building down.

Then, in 2020, local developer and owner of Chinook Contractors Kelly Clark purchased the Eliason Building and began renovation in August 2023. The revitalized building is now a mixed-use development that includes 14,000 square of feet of residential space, 10,000 square feet of retail space, and a restaurant, all while maintaining the original Scandinavian-inspired appearance. 

“We can’t wait to bring more life back to this section of the downtown area, which is a wonderful location and deserves a more modern hub of activity that will contribute to the beauty of Poulsbo,” Clark said.

Kimco Plumbing

For the pluming work on the renovation, Chinook turned to Kimco Plumbing. In business since 1990, Kimco has made Poulsbo its company headquarters since 2000. The name “Kimco” comes from company founders, William and Patrcia Kimler who have since retired. The current owner/operators are husband-and-wife team Robb and Jessica Young. Robb joined the company in 1997, and Jessica (daughter of William and Patricia) joined in 2001.

Currently, Kimco has 12 plumbers and additional office staff on payroll—the company scales up or down depending on the workload. Their service area is mainly Kitsap and Clallam Counties, but the company is willing to work nearly anywhere on the Olympic Peninsula.

For the Eliason building, Kimco had to renovate all the piping and install new faucets, fixtures and water heaters. “We went in before the tenants were known, so we installed basic wastewater and gas piping to all the commercial units, then did all the plumbing for the residential units,” Robb Young said. “As tenants were secured, we completed tenant improvements and customized each space depending on their needs. For example, the hair salon needed water lines for chairs. One restaurant and bar space required rough-ins for a full bar kitchen, including three-compartment sinks, dishwashers, and everything else they needed.”

Complicating the renovation was dealing with an historic building, as well as a challenging downtown location that made moving workers, materials and equipment difficult.

“We couldn’t shut down Front Street, which would have made things much easier, so we had to work from Third Avenue,” Jessica Young said. “We also had to work around the existing structure, which was fragile, and make sure none of our work compromised it. For us, it was essentially new construction because no existing plumbing remained. Everything was brand new on our end.”

“We had to make sure, especially with waste piping, that we could get proper grade and route everything where it needed to go without compromising beams or structural elements that had to remain,” Robb Young added. “We worked closely with Chinook to make adjustments as needed.”

Job Well Done

The project took little more than a year. Kimco wrapped the majority of its work in late 2025. They will be finishing up the final touches on the last tenant space in June of 2026. In the course of their work, they installed low flow fixtures (as per the Washington State building code) from Moen, and high-efficiency, 50-gallon electric water heaters from Bradford White.

The Youngs give a lot of credit to Chinook Contractors for how smoothly the job went. Through comprehensive planning, staging and execution, all the different trade teams were able to come together and deliver a more beautiful, welcoming and accessible space.

“One of the reasons we like working with Chinook is that everyone comes together and asks, ‘How can we solve this?’ Instead of one person or one company carrying the burden, everyone pitches in,” Robb Young said.

Kimco now has another multifamily project with Chinook lined up for later in the year.

And hopefully the positive impact of the Eliason Building renovation will be felt in the company’s hometown for years to come.

“The comprehensive renovation of the historic Eliason Building exemplifies the elevated standard of thoughtful site and building design that Poulsbo’s downtown aspires to," said Nikole Coleman, AICP, Planning Manager, City of Poulsbo. "By honoring its heritage while introducing inspiring architectural elements and vibrant mixed-use living, this project sets a new benchmark for livability and character in the heart of downtown Poulsbo.”