Gotion made headlines when the Chinese company closed a deal with the state last September promising a new $2 billion electric vehicle battery gigafactory and 2,600 jobs to Kankakee County.
That's just the type of headline leaders in Peoria and Peoria County want to see here, too. Peoria County administrator Scott Sorrel said there's plenty of interest from businesses, as the regular inquries made to the Greater Peoria Economic Council might attest. He said the challenge comes from logistical hindrances in creating the so-called "mega sites" that major manufacturers often need.
Mega sites are usually at least several hundred acres in size, and sometimes larger. Attractive aspects like rail, nearby interstate access, and public utilities are often already in place, but there's not enough land readily available to make it worth the company's while.
"We have a number of areas that could potentially be mega site qualified. However, the state government, the county government, the city government, do not have site control," Sorrel said. "We don't own the land. The city government and county government have a financial barrier to be able to assemble that land so that we could offer up one of those locations."
Sorrel said that makes the Peoria area and Illinois less competitive compared to its Midwestern neighbors. He noted elements like job-development credits and economic development benefits have long been on the local government legislative wish list, but this is the first time facilitation of mega site creation is an explicit ask.
"The one thing holding us back is site control of the land, whether that'd be actually owning it outright, or having options or agreements with the current landowners to say, if a project were to come forward, then, you know, so on, so forth," Sorrel said.
Peoria County, the city of Peoria, and the Peoria City/County Health Department will host their annual Legislative Breakfast at the Peoria Public Library's Main Branch on Friday morning.
