City Near Phoenix to Develop 7,000 Acres of State Land

A city northwest of Phoenix has cut a deal with the state to build infrastructure for 6,700 acres to be auctioned off for development.

Peoria approved an agreement with the Arizona State Land Department in which the city will serve as master developer while spending $140 million for infrastructure for development, west of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s $65 billion plant, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

Dubbed the Peoria Innovation Core, the swath of 10.5 square miles along Lake Pleasant Parkway, Loop 303 and State Route 74 is expected to be developed in phases over 20 years.

To accomplish that, the state is expected to sell the land to residential builders, employers and commercial developers through multiple auctions.

Peoria leaders launched the strategy as a quick way to draw major economic development deals in one of the final large-scale master-planned areas in the city.

Since most of the land left to be built out within Peoria is state trust land, the city has been working with the state for 10 years to identify prime opportunities for growth, according to the Business Journal.

It’s also where the city wants to acquire 500 acres for a future regional airpark and employment center similar to Scottsdale Airpark.

Peoria Mayor Jason Beck said the state land department agreement is the first of its kind and will help attract the type of projects that the city hs previously missed out on.

Beck said Peoria lost a $4 billion SK Hynix semiconductor project with thousands of jobs to Indiana, which compelled him to meet with its governor to figure out what Peoria lacked.

“We need to be able to create an ecosystem and we identified that very early on and that was the plan to make this happen, that is what’s going to change the city,” Beck said.

Buyers of the land will be expected to share in the city’s infrastructure cost. Peoria is going to develop the infrastructure in intervals so that the site can be built out based on market demand, minimizing risk for the state and city.

Winning bidders of state land within the core will be required to pay for the soft infrastructure costs at the time of the auction.

The buyer will then have to reimburse the city for half of the hard construction costs once it pays for the property, followed by the remaining half after final plat, site plan or building permits are approved, plus interest.

The city expects to be reimbursed with up to $500 million for its infrastructure investments over 15 to 20 years. Throughout the buildout, the City of Peoria estimates the land auctions will bring in at least $1 billion to the state trust.

Companies have already targeted the region for megaprojects, according to the Business Journal.

Tempe-based Amkor Technology plans to build a $2 billion semiconductor packaging plant in Vistancia’s commercial core, where it secured 50 acres of land for free.

Phoenix-based Hyperion Technology is also looking in the northwest Valley to build a $1.5 billion semiconductor substrate manufacturing plant, with 1,500 jobs.

— Dana Bartholomew