Peoria Innovation Core wins key approval for homes, shops and industry Article originally posted on AZ Central on March 9, 2026 An 11.5-square-mile chunk of desert in northeastern Peoria took one vital step closer to becoming the long-promised ‘Innovation Core,’ after the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended allowing industrial, commercial and residential uses there. The seven-member commission voted with minimal opposition from the public at its March 5 meeting. The decision paved the way for the city to create the Peoria Innovation Core Planned Community District, a 7,341-acre master-planned development spanning a long stretch of Lake Pleasant Parkway, beginning north of Lone Mountain Parkway. Most of the land is owned by the Arizona State Land Department, but Peoria bought about 835 acres of it at an auction in 2025.