New village with more than 2K homes, trails, businesses proposed in Pierce County city
The city of DuPont is proposing a new village around The Home Golf Course with more than 2,000 new homes in addition to new hiking trails, businesses and entertainment venues.
The land surrounding the golf course and the 1833 Fort Nisqually Site bordering Puget Sound is currently undeveloped, DuPont public services director Barb Kincaid told The News Tribune on Wednesday, April 3.
A development plan expected to be approved later this year would change that, adding a mix of up to 560 single-family dwelling units, up to 1,860 middle-housing dwelling units and up to 1,360 multifamily dwelling units on the site. That’s in addition to a proposed 17 acres of commercial and neighborhood businesses, 20 acres of entertainment businesses and 10 acres of civic building.
“It is a big deal,” Kincaid said. “If you think about DuPont’s developable area, this is the one spot where it’s not developed.”
Under the draft master plan for the Old Fort Lake Subarea there would be a mix of new single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes and apartments available for a range of incomes, Kincaid said. Although the city doesn’t have control over market prices, Kincaid said, DuPont would work to streamline the permitting process to reduce development costs and promote affordability.
Development would happen in collaboration with the Nisqually Tribe and Albatross Estates LLC, which owns most of the developable land, Kincaid said. The Home Course would remain where it is under its current ownership.
Jon Potter, a project manager for Albatross Estates LLC, told The News Tribune on Tuesday there would be phased development on the site, which could take 15 to 20 years to complete.
DuPont City Council will discuss additional zoning regulations May 13, then set the plan aside until October as the city works on its periodic comprehensive plan update. Once the comprehensive plan is finalized, the city would revisit the Old Fort Lake Subarea Plan and consider adoption in December, Kincaid said.
Golf course, trails, shops to be draw for community
DuPont wants to open up the Old Fort Lake Subarea to more passive recreation, and there are plans to add a trail along the bluff as a draw to the area in addition to the golf course, Kincaid said. Other new commercial and entertainment developments are expected to bring people in, too.
“Really the goal, or what we hope to be the main highlight of this plan, is having this gateway that goes into basically a new village area for DuPont,” she said. “A new livable, work-play village.”
Albatross Estates LLC would eventually submit a master plan to the city with more specifics on the types of development that would go in, Kincaid said. Once the site plan is approved by the city, developers can start submitting permits to build, she said.
In terms of commercial development, Kincaid said, “We’re not talking big box stores, but you know, [a] coffee shop, maybe a brewery, that kind of thing.”
Albatross Estates LLC said it wants community input as to what should be built, Potter said. Other considerations include a locally-owned grocery store, amphitheater, ball fields, bakery and hotel near the golf course, he said.
“We’re certainly getting good ideas through the planning commission process … because this needs to fit within the community. But at the same time, we have to make sure that there’s sufficient development to accommodate the costs of all the infrastructure that has to go in,” Potter said. “Then, of course, the city needs to have enough economic development tax dollars to afford the cost of the services they have to provide for the development. It’s hand in hand.”
Potter said Albatross Estates LLC is committed to honoring the rich cultural history and beauty of the area and is working closely with the Nisqually Tribe and The Home Course to do that.
The site is contaminated with arsenic from past industrial and manufacturing use, which has to be cleaned to a higher standard before development, Potter said.
That work is underway, and the company is working with the Department of Ecology and the Attorney General’s Office to bring the site up to state standards, which is expected to be in early 2026, he said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
