Miles SmithThe City of Peoria, Arizona, will invest $140 million into building public infrastructure on 6,700 acres of state land with a goal of encouraging economic development in the northern part of the city.
The Peoria City Council recently approved an agreement with the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) that allows the city to lead the land planning efforts on an undeveloped 10.5-square-mile portion of land that encompasses the Loop 303 corridor, from Lake Pleasant Parkway to State Route 74.
The goal of the investment is to reduce the need to travel outside city limits to work, shop and dine, keeping people and their money within city limits.
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“Our partnership with Arizona State Land will provide the city with thousands of new jobs, quality restaurants, retail, and housing,” Peoria Mayor Jason Beck said. “This partnership represents Peoria’s economic development future and will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue for our city over the next 20 years.”
Per the terms of the agreement, the city will provide an initial $140 million investment, and subsequent reimbursements of up to $500 million from land sales, to build public arterials and utilities infrastructure within the site.
Project details include the facilitation of roadways, utilities and land planning with potential benefits like job creation, tax revenue and infrastructure reimbursement. The plan provides a framework for balanced growth, resident engagement and partnership to potentially spur the city’s economic and community development.
The city said it will target employment growth within the semiconductor and microelectronics supply chain, aerospace and defense industry and advanced manufacturing, as well as hospitality and commercial/retail centers.
Several hundred acres will be dedicated to the city’s new Mountains, Open Space and River Ecosystems (MORE) program, including more open space and hiking trails.
As ASLD auctions off the land, the city will be reimbursed for design, permitting, rights-of-way costs and interest.
The city will be reimbursed for up to 50% of construction costs upon final patent of land and the final 50% of construction costs once a final plat or site plan is approved, the city said.
Photo courtesy Cathixx, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
