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Council approves $3.3 million design push for Peoria Innovation Corps road projects ahead of land auction
Summary
Council authorized creation of two capital projects and a $3.3 million contingency transfer to design public infrastructure for the Peoria Innovation Corps, with staff saying the city will be reimbursed for design costs at the time of state land auctions.
The City Council on Nov. 4 approved the creation of two capital improvement projects and the transfer of $3,300,000 from contingency to design public infrastructure tied to the Peoria Innovation Corps, a city-led master‑development area for which the city is master developer under an intergovernmental agreement with the State Land Department.
Deputy City Manager Mike Faust told the council the projects include sections of Lone Mountain Parkway and two phases of 90th Avenue that will provide roadway, drainage and underground utility design. He said those design costs will be reimbursed to the city by purchasers at the time of the public land auction under the IGA with state land.
Faust said one national homebuilder has applied for roughly 800 acres of single‑family residential in the area and that completing design before the auction would allow developers to pull permits faster and increase land value, a goal the state land department shares. He described the design scope as including roadway alignment, drainage, traffic analysis, city and non‑city utilities (with trenches for fiber and power), and landscape irrigation.
Staff recommended and council approved an immediate award of design work, a move to 30% drawings and stakeholder reviews (including APS and utility partners), with final construction drawings anticipated later and the first land auctions expected in late 2026. Faust repeated that the city’s soft costs for design will be reimbursed at auction per the state land IGA and that later construction costs would be reimbursed under the IGA’s provisions.
The motion to create the two CIP projects and move $3.3 million from contingency passed unanimously, 7‑0.
Council members asked about distinctions among city‑built arterials, developer‑built roads and the hybrid model used here (city builds/designs, and purchasers reimburse design or construction costs); staff explained the hybrid is intended to accelerate development while keeping the city in the lead on long‑term roadway planning.
