POULSBO — Though the world has changed around it, one of State Route 305’s oldest buildings has held one constant.

It’s not the dark shake roof nor the cinder-block construction — it’s a profession that has called it home since its inception.

“There’s always been a plumbers shop here,” commented Beverly Swift, who has owned Swift Plumbing & Heating, Inc. with husband Cal for the last 18 years.

But that will all change as the Swifts prepare to move to a new building they’re having constructed near the Bond Road and SR 305 intersection. The move, which will begin around April 19 and be completed by May 1, will allow the family room to grow its business more than it already has.

When the Swifts bought the shop in 1985 from Merl and Pat Strand, who had previously owned it 20 years, they were a two-person operation. Today, Swift employs more than a dozen plumbers in areas like repair and service, boilers, radiant heating, new construction and heating and plumbing estimates. Cal is still out in the field “doing just about everything,” said Beverly. Now, son Ty is also part of the family business. He plans to take over the shop when his parents retire.

And with all that growing, the Swifts recently decided it was time for a new location.

“We ran out of room,” Beverly said matter-of-factly.

Another reason for the move has to do with transportation.

First and foremost, the plumbers had nowhere but a shared parking lot to keep their trucks. Beverly said their neighbors were always very nice about the vans being parked there around the clock, however, she always felt their business took more spots than it should have.

And as if parking weren’t bad enough, then there was the matter of getting their vans to and from jobs.

“(State Route 305) has multiplied as far as the traffic,” Beverly said. “Just getting out on the road is horrendous.”

The new Swift location is 11,000-square feet, compared with the shop’s current 2,800 square feet.

“We’ll kind of be rolling in there for a while,” Beverly commented. “It’s going to be really big.”

The 1.25-acre property where the building is being sited also allows the business room to expand, should the need arise.

Included in the new building is a 2,400-square-foot showroom with heated floors, the only one of its kind in the area, and running water to some fixtures so customers can see their purchases in action. The new display area will also include sections devoted to assisted living and bathtubs and fiberglass showers. A window will allow customers to peer into a working boiler room to see how the mechanism works.

But while customers will soon no longer seek out Swift in its tiny storefront with its “100-year-old” sign, Beverly said there is one thing that will remain the same. No matter how big or fancy their new home may be, the business owners and employees remain the same customer-service-driven bunch they’ve always been.

“I like working with the customers,” Beverly commented. “I like the people. I’d miss the people if I didn’t work. We have a lot of really nice repeat customers and that’s what makes it worthwhile.”

The current Swift location has been bought by a financial consulting firm and will become offices.