Say "DuPont" and the first thing that comes to mind is the American global chemical giant. But DuPont also is a small and, perhaps, easily forgotten city in south Puget Sound. Well, start paying attention. While DuPont is, in fact, a former company town for a DuPont dynamite plant, the city is finding new life in attracting major real estate developers who see its location in Pierce County as a cheaper alternative to the commercial and residential real estate markets in Seattle and Bellevue.

The city of 7,000 people -- located off Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Olympia, and bordering the U.S. Army's Fort Lewis -- already is home to Northwest Landing, an awardwinning 3,000-acre mixed-use planned community by Quadrant Homes. But it's not just a bedroom community; the city also will become home to $1 billion worth of office and hightech manufacturing space known as First Park Northwest Landing.

The 260-acre parcel, which Chicago-based First Industrial Realty bought from Quadrant, surrounds a golf course and overlooks Puget Sound with views of Mount Rainier and the Olympic Mountains. First Industrial has submitted plans for 140 lots with the bluff area set aside for office and technology uses and interior portions around the golf course open for professional offices and other areas for light manufacturing and warehouse uses. Plans call for development to occur over the next seven to eight years.

Tony Kusak, an associate director at commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, says DuPont is fast becoming an attractive site for industrial and business-park developers. "It's a unique site," he says, with good freeway access and close proximity to major urban centers, which cuts down on commute times. "Housing prices have become increasingly expensive, and for a company that is trying to cater to a large employee base," DuPont makes for "an attractive place."