The city of DuPont, Washington is located on the I-5 corridor, halfway between the cities of Tacoma and Olympia, and adjacent from the Fort Lewis military installation. The original village of Dupont, next to the Northwest Landing development, was originally housing for Dupont munitions factory workers. The Weyerhauser Company purchased the 3200 acre site after the Dupont Powder Works closed and started to develop the area into the Northwest Landing planned community.

The development consists of five villages, a town center, commercial areas, as well as a multitude of parks, open spaces and trails. Large companies, like State Farm Insurance, and Intel Corp. have located to Northwest Landing. The town's "Main Street" area has attracted many small businesses, restaurants and two hotels.

What makes Northwest Landing such an attractive place to live is the well-balanced use of residential, recreational and retail space. All areas are reachable by trails and sidewalks. The homes are, to a large extent, built to represent a village character, with garages off to the side or rear of the homes. The houses are built in the craftsman or cottage style. They are located close together and with inviting front porches that reflect the small town character.

The town offers a healthy mix of single family homes, condominiums, town homes and also a retirement community. The recent addition of a golf course that overlooks the Puget Sound and offers views of the Olympic Mountains, as well as Mt. Rainier has added even more value to the quality of life in Dupont.

Northwest Landing is a desirable location for military home buyers, who value the proximity to McChord AFB, as well as Fort Lewis, and who want their children to be in the Steilacoom school district, rather than the Clover Park school district the families living on the installations fall under.

The population of Dupont amounted to 592 people in 1990 and is currently over 7000 inhabitants. It is projected that the population will reach 10,000 by the end of 2009, when the build-out of Northwest landing is scheduled to be completed.

Homes in Dupont have appreciated at an incredible pace. New construction homes can still be had at close to $250,000.

Today is as good a time to invest in Dupont as it was when Northwest Landing was first developed.

Photo#2 courtesy of TND Homes.

Sandy Nelson
Realtor for Olympia Area Real Estate
www.sandynelsonrealestate.com