Officials say most of the vacant land left in the sprawling northwest Valley city of Peoria is owned by the state.
Now the city is partnering with the state to work on initial development of 6,700 acres of trust land in what’s known as the Peoria Innovation Core.
The Loop 303 corridor from Lake Pleasant Parkway to State Route 74 is the area in question.
City officials expect their new partnership with the state land department to span decades.
Peoria has agreed to spend $140 million to build roads and utilities infrastructure.
Then the city can receive up to $500 million back as land is sold.
“This is the next evolution in growth of our city. When we say north Peoria and the growth, this is where it’s going to go,” said Mike Faust, deputy city manager, at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
City officials said when the state auctions off the land, it’ll be ready to be built on, and they expect it to fetch between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
Most people who live in Peoria work elsewhere in metro Phoenix.
Faust told the City Council the partnership means this can change over time. Creating a job center is key to Peoria’s future.
“And when you look at the map, it screams in the center of the ecosystem to say, ‘You have 30,000 homes on one side. You’re going to have another 20-30,000 on the other. We need employment to keep people in the north Valley,” Faust said.
