Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

This is certainly the case with how the financials have played out after the Olhava shopping area was developed in 2006.

When discussions of what businesses should go where began nary a decade ago, warning bells rang fast and furious in the air. The fear was that the Olhava site would welcome corporate chains to Poulsbo, thus taking away from the warm, inviting Nordic atmosphere the city’s residents have come to adore.

As it turns out, most corporate chains have reputations that precede them. First, the workers leave their jobs en masse, flocking to the corporate stores in favor of benefit packages and higher pay than local stores can offer. Then, the customers quickly follow suit, in the hunt for getting more bang for their bucks. If that happens, local businesses can’t keep up and go the way of the $2 gallon of gas, never to be heard from again.

The reputation wasn’t for naught, as that scenario had, in fact, played out in hundreds of communities throughout the country.

A decade ago, the fear was that the Olhava development — now home of Poulsbo’s Super Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Office Max — would bring that fate to roost if corporate stores were housed there.

There was much discussion that the “big box” stores would hurt local businesses.

Well, corporate stores have opened in the Olhava business district.

And … surprise: Big box stores are making a positive contribution to the city of Poulsbo.

Who would have thunk it?

In fact, people on the quest for home improvement items not carried in the local Mom and Pops stores or those looking for a new pair of socks to wear around the house are now staying in Poulsbo, keeping that money in their backyard. That money, in turn, is being funneled right back into Poulsbo’s microcosmic economy.

This, as it turns out, is good news for the city. Really good news.

According to City Finance Director Deb Booher, the Olhava development opened in 2006 and now that area accounts for 23 percent of sales tax revenue — that’s added revenue, or money formerly spent outside Poulsbo. Now, that money is contributing to the community because it can be used in the revitalization efforts in downtown Poulsbo. This will benefit the downtown core and Johnny Taxpayer, as the sales tax revenue can be used to help construct Poulsbo’s city hall. The city hall now has a price tag of $17 million. Without the box stores, it’s unlikely the city would be able to pay that for its showcase building.

Now that’s thinking — and spending — inside the box.

Council Member Ed Stern recognizes and appreciates the irony of the situation. The businesses poised to destroy downtown’s core just 10 years ago are now acting as a saviour of sorts.

“Poulsbo hasn’t been destroyed,” he said. “The character hasn’t been lost. … Ten years forward, I think the careful visioning and execution bears out the fruit of the labor.”

He says the proof is in the pudding. In this case, the pudding is the local economy, and the proof is the taxes that are staying local.

We’ll have another bowl, please.