POULSBO — Big changes are coming to the intersection of Viking Avenue and Liberty Road.
On the northeast corner of the intersection, the controversial Helter Skelter Lounge and neighboring tattoo parlor have closed; the building has been vandalized and its street sign is gone. A sign on the door says the tattoo parlor has moved to West Bremerton. A call to the owner was not returned.
Jeremy Robinson, Poulsbo code enforcement officer, said after the businesses closed, there were issues with regard to open doors and possible drug use on the site. Robinson reached the tattoo parlor owner, who said he had lost the building and it had been auctioned off. After repeated calls to the new owners of record, a corporation, went to voice mail, Robinson said he learned the corporation had gone into bankruptcy.
The building has been secured, Robinson said, but not much else can be done until a legal owner can be contacted. A Kitsap County parcel search shows the current owner to be TOC Holdings of Seattle.
On the southeast corner of the intersection, a weary sign identifies the empty parking lot as the one-time and long-ago home of Poulsbo RV. But it will not be empty much longer. The lot is scheduled to become the new home of Olmsted Nursery.
According to the site plan preview filed with the city on Aug. 21, Olmsted Nursery has purchased the 1.56-acre property. Plans call for constructing one 2,700-square-foot building and a 360-square-foot cooler, remodeling the existing 864-square-foot building for an office and restroom, and building twocanopy buildings of 1,200 square feet each.
Bulk materials, such as peat moss and gravel, would be stored along the south and southeast portion of the site. The proposal calls for 21 parking stalls, all with access from Viking Avenue. The Olmsted Nursery site on Highway 305 will close after the Christmas holidays; plans call for their new location to be up and operating by Feb. 1, Sean Olmsted said.
“We were renting our old site [on Highway 305] from month to month,” Olmsted said. “We needed a permanent home and there’s a lot exciting starting to happen on Viking Avenue.”
On the southwest corner, Fishline has broken ground for a new building that “will be a one-stop shop for social services,” according to Mary Nader, Fishline executive director. Fishline will sign the contract with FPH Construction by Sept. 18 to begin construction on the $3.4 million building. Plans call for completion in April 2018, Nader said.
Finally, the northwest corner of the intersection is dominated by James Lumber/Ace Hardware. After more than 60 years in business, Mitch James has announced the family-owned store is closing forever and all items and fixtures will be liquidated.
The store has sent out invitations to customers and friends to come for a special sale now through Sept. 20, after which the sale will be opened to the general public. According to James, there are no immediate plans for the property, which is listed with RE/MAX agent Craig Steinlicht.
For more on James Lumber story, see “An interview with Mitch James” on page A5.
— Terryl Asla is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at tasla@soundpublishing.com.
The vandalized interior of the Helter Skelter Lounge is visible through the shattered front windows. The tattoo parlor next door, owned by the same person, has reopened in West Bremerton. Terryl Asla/Kitsap News Group
After more than 60 years, James Lumber has closed. Terryl Asla/Kitsap News Group
A battered sign sits forlornly atop a pole in the old Poulsbo RV parking lot. The site will become the new home of Olmstead Nursery. Terryl Asla/Kitsap News Group
The James Lumber sign advertises the store’s closing. Terryl Asla/Kitsap News Group
