Peoria's newest park opened at 12201 W. Westland Road on September 15. The city calls it its 37th neighborhood park, and Mayor Jason Beck and members of the City Council cut the ribbon. The opening announcement gives the size as 10.67 acres. The city's capital budget lists the same site with about 5.2 usable acres. The money behind it follows a pattern that also covers the next two parks planned for north Peoria. A developer built Mystic, homebuilder impact fees pay that developer back, and the city has budgeted the upkeep for years to come.
That arrangement accounts for the park's size, its location and its timing. Being this new also means the city's online booking tools don't show it yet.
What's at 12201 W. Westland Road
Mystic Neighborhood Park sits inside the Mystic at Lake Pleasant Heights community in far-north Peoria. The city's grand-opening release lists the following:
- Two playgrounds
- A lighted sports field
- A lighted basketball court
- Two lighted pickleball courts
- Walking paths and open turf
- A large group ramada with four grills
- A smaller ramada for gatherings
- Restrooms and parking
The Peoria Independent also covered the opening and called Mystic the city's 37th neighborhood park.
Keep in mind the difference between 10.67 acres and roughly 5.2 usable acres. The city's capital plan counts less than half the site as usable, and it says each neighborhood park's amenities depend on "space, topography, and proximity to other such community amenities."
Booking a Ramada Still Takes a Phone Call
The park follows Peoria's standard rules. Neighborhood parks are open daily from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with some holiday exceptions. City recreation staff turn the sports-field lights on and off.
Ramada reservations go through the city by phone. On the Peoria reservations page, the online availability calendars cover only Pioneer, Rio Vista and Paloma parks. Everything else, Mystic included, goes through the phone line.
| Detail | What the city lists |
|---|---|
| Reservation line | 623-773-7137, Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Time blocks | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 to 5 p.m., 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Single ramada, up to 20 people | $30 resident, $70 non-resident |
| Double ramada, up to 40 people | $50 resident, $90 non-resident |
| Beer permit | $10, canned beer only, kept within the ramada |
| Lead time | Apply at least 48 hours ahead |
| Refunds | Cancel at least seven days ahead |
The park rules also require the permit holder to be at least 18 and on site. Glass is not allowed anywhere in the park.
The city's rate table doesn't say whether Mystic's large group ramada is billed as a single or a double. Ask when you call before you count on a price. The city's map of the park marks two ramada locations, but it doesn't list a rental category for either. For a birthday party at the four-grill ramada, a quick question on the phone settles the price.
The city also posts a weekly neighborhood-park ramada reservation list as a PDF. The version dated Friday, September 25 did not include Mystic. Ten days after the ribbon cutting, the paperwork hadn't caught up with the park yet.
Pickleball Is First-Come, and the Field Is an Open Question
The two lighted pickleball courts can't be reserved. Peoria's field rental brochure says pickleball and tennis courts at neighborhood parks "are not available to rent." Whoever gets to the court first plays first. The basketball court is a separate question, so ask the city about it.
The lighted sports field is less clear. The field rental brochure lists rental rates for neighborhood fields at $20 an hour for residents and $30 an hour for non-residents. Lighted fields add $20 an hour per field when the lights are on. The brochure names Liberty, Varney and Murphy parks as the lighted neighborhood fields. Mystic isn't on that list. If you coach a youth team or run a weekend league and want this field, contact field rentals at [email protected] or 623-773-8606, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and ask whether Mystic is in the rental rotation.
Who Paid for It
Peoria's FY 2027–2036 capital improvement program lists Mystic as project CS00267. The construction line shows $0 in every year. The park still got built, because city money was never meant to pay for construction.
According to the capital plan, the developer builds the park. The city pays the developer back through impact fees, which homebuilders pay when they pull building permits. The repayment is whichever is lower: the developer's actual cost or the $6,224,000 figure in Peoria's Infrastructure Improvement Plan. The plan says that "reimbursement will occur when the funding becomes available."
The city's ongoing commitment is upkeep. The same project sheet budgets $233,793 a year in contractual park services for Mystic through fiscal 2035, plus $55,000 in capital outlay for fiscal 2027. That comes to $2,159,137 over the plan's ten years.
This setup ties a park's arrival to home construction nearby. Building permits produce the impact fees, and the developer who's building homes builds the park. Mystic opened as part of that process, inside a community whose master final plat went to the City Council in February 2019.
The Same Template, Two More Times
Two more north Peoria parks are on the same page of the capital plan, set up the same way. Both have $0 in city construction dollars, a developer reimbursement capped at the Infrastructure Improvement Plan figure, and a city upkeep budget.
| Park | Site acres | Usable acres | Reimbursement cap | Annual upkeep budgeted | Upkeep starts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystic | 10.67 | about 5.2 | $6,224,000 | $233,793 | FY 2027 |
| Aloravita South | 9.77 | about 6 | $7,120,000 | $200,242 | FY 2027 |
| Northpoint (Vistancia) | 10.50 | about 8 | $10,020,000 | $233,793 | FY 2029 |
Northpoint, in Vistancia, would be the largest of the three on usable ground, with about 8 of its 10.50 acres. It also carries the highest reimbursement cap. The city doesn't budget maintenance for it until fiscal 2029, which suggests a later timeline than Aloravita South. Aloravita South's maintenance line starts in fiscal 2027, the same year as Mystic's. A maintenance budget is a planning number, and the city hasn't announced an opening date for either park.
For all three parks, the plan describes the likely amenities in the same words: lighted fields, shaded inclusive playgrounds, shaded picnic ramadas, lighted courts, a restroom, parking and lighted walking paths, depending on the site. Mystic shows what that list looks like on about five usable acres. A site with eight usable acres, like Northpoint, has more room to work with.
The same budget document funds trails as well. A citywide Mountain Trail Improvements project lists $955,000 for new and improved natural-surface trails. A separate open space project names Vistancia and Lake Pleasant Heights as the areas where dedicated open space is expected. Mystic is part of Lake Pleasant Heights, one of the two areas that project names.
Groceries and Dinner on the Way Home
Lake Pleasant Parkway is the main road for errands around a Mystic picnic. Fry's is at 25401 N. Lake Pleasant Pkwy, In-N-Out Burger is at 25390 N. Lake Pleasant Pkwy, and Four Corners Taphouse is at 24762 N. Lake Pleasant Pkwy, on the northwest corner at Happy Valley Road.
More is approved along the same road. On August 11, 2026, the City Council approved Travesio Mixed Use, a 21.71-acre project with a 5.86-acre commercial center that includes a specialty grocery store along Lake Pleasant Parkway and a 50-lot residential subdivision. The Peoria Independent reported that the grocery anchor is a 30,000-square-foot Whole Foods. No groundbreaking or opening date has been announced. Travesio also has a residential piece, so its home building will produce the same impact fees that pay for parks like Mystic.
I love seeing a new park fill up with neighbors. If you're thinking about the homes around Mystic, Aloravita or Vistancia's Northpoint area and want to see how new parks and new building affect what a house there is worth, Walsh Real Estate Group can help you sort it out. Get Your Instant Home Valuation and we'll go through the numbers together.
