PEORIA, Ill. (25 News) – Peoria has free land to give away, if you’re willing to develop it.
On Wednesday, the city hosted an event for builders, developers, real estate agents, and others trying to build housing in the Peoria area.
As part of the event, attendees viewed a presentation from Jacob Xaiver. Xavier is a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow who is spending two years in Peoria to work on housing.
Xavier says Peoria has numerous factors working in its favor, such as a high number of college graduates and a strong healthcare industry. But one negative is a growing divide between the rich and poor in Peoria.
“Such a gap inside one community, inside one Peoria, where one family invests in real estate and the other family cannot patch their leaking roof, that’s a problem for everyone,” Xavier said.
Most of the free land available for housing development is located in the East Bluff and South Peoria, with some land in the North Valley. Mayor Rita Ali says they’re looking for any type of housing to go on the land.
“We’re looking for quality housing, whether that’s rental housing or single family homes. We want it all, and we need it all. There’s a demand for it,” said Mayor Rita Ali.
Interested developers can reach out to the city with their proposed plans and set up a meeting with city staff. After a successful meeting, the city will see if the neighborhoods approve of the plans.
(Reporting by Taylor Fleming)
