The city of Peoria successfully bid on over 800 acres of land

The city of Peoria was the successful bidder for 834.5 acres in the recent State Land Public Auction with a final bid of $46.7 million.

On August 28, the City Council approved the land exchange agreement that will allow Amkor Technology to move forward with construction for their planned state-of-the-art advanced semiconductor packaging and test facility on 104 acres of the newly acquired Core 2 property.

This project will create 2,000 new local jobs, representing a $2 billion investment in Peoria, while securing the nation’s semiconductor supply chain by producing this in-demand product in the United States.

Mayor Jason Beck of the city of Peoria joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss this new project and its potential benefits for the city’s future.

The Mayor says that there were different plans for what the Amkor land was going to be used for prior to the deal. The original plan was to build an airport for the Peoria area, but pivoted because they could not keep the 2.1 million square feet in a residential community area.

After winning the state auction for the land, Mayor Beck says that they were able to swap the lands. Amkor received approximately 140 acres, while the city of Peoria received the rest.

Plans for the Peoria land include an HonorHealth Medical Campus, as well as skilled education facility, West-MEC.

While Amkor Tech plans to use the land to develop a semiconductor packaging and test facility, resulting in thousands of job opportunities, Beck says that the deal received a lot of opposition.

Beck says that this was due to being unable to disclose certain details of the land deal process due to concern over interjection in the auction.

“We had to go to battle to make this happen… but it’s the right thing for the city, and it’s the right thing for the state,” said Beck.