The city of Peoria is collecting data to evaluate the need for a local airpark.
The public is invited to send in their questions by Aug. 15, as the city prepares a video presentation for release later this month, on Aug. 21.
Peoria has looked into building an airpark or airport in the past. A study from the year 2000 concluded it was feasible, but the City Council did not take action at the time.
The city also proposed to build a corporate airport when trying to attract Amazon’s second headquarters in a national bidding war in 2017.
This time around, the city has been looking into the potential for an airpark since 2023. A preliminary analysis by the city estimates the economic impact to be $1 billion annually, with nearly 8,000 jobs and generating more than $60 million in state and local taxes each year.
"We’re not going to the City Council and saying, 'Well are you ready to build an airpark?’ That’s not what we’re doing," said Deputy City Manager Mike Faust. "That decision is still a ways off in the future. This is just another data point along the way of evaluating whether or not they should want to build an airport or an airpark."
