Peoria land deal will result in new jobs and revenue for the city

The Peoria City Council has approved a landmark Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) that will lead to development, new jobs and revenue generation for decades.

Jason Beck, City of Peoria Mayor, joined us on “Arizona Horizon to discuss the new land deal.

This partnership allows the city to lead the land planning efforts on 6,700 acres of undeveloped State Trust land in the area referred to as the Peoria Innovation Core (PIC), 10.5 square miles of land that encompasses the Loop 303 corridor, from Lake Pleasant Parkway to State Route 74.

“This returns $500 million, up to $500 million of reimbursed infrastructure, so essentially we just generated $500 million of additional revenue to the citizens of the city of Peoria,” Beck said.

Although there is infrastructure being planned, Beck says the city recently added 3,800 acres in Peoria that will include outdoor engagement such as trails and open land. This was made possible with a Peoria program called M.O.R.E which stands for Mountains, Open Space and River Ecosystems.

“We had to work with state land and really try to find a solution to be able to work in concert with them to put infrastructure in, put entitlements and zoning,” Beck said.

He said that 85% of the residents work outside of Peoria, and he is focused on working with the city to bring jobs to the northwest valley. Beck believes his citizens should not have to drive hundreds of hours a year to make money. This partnership is expected to provide the city with thousands of new jobs, new restaurants, retail and housing.

“For us, if you look at the four pillars of what it creates, it creates about $500 million of reimbursed infrastructure, it creates anywhere between 1.5 and $3 billion for state educational trust fund… for taxes and revenue it generates billions of dollars over a 20-year period,” Beck said.