The Bismarck Airport is set to expand as MDU Resources Group plans a private building to house and service its corporate jets.

The facility, which is still in the planning stages, would include a hangar, offices and parking for MDU employees on outbound corporate jets. Currently, the corporate jets are housed in general facilities.

City officials have long planned for a corporate jet area at its airport, but this is the first sign that one will be built.

"It's exciting to see that start to develop," City Administrator Bill Wocken said.

The City Commission voted Tuesday night to authorize engineering studies for the project. Airport manager Greg Haug said the city would be taking care of infrastructure surrounding the building, while MDU would be building and operating the facility. He said the infrastructure improvements would be 95 percent federally funded, with the airport picking up the remainder.

"We are just trying to accommodate MDU as well as we can," Haug said.

He said the new construction should also satisfy ongoing requests from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Bismarck Airport to do a better job of separating publicly funded areas from private corporate use.

John Stumpf, vice president of strategic planning at MDU, said the new facility is necessary because air travel has grown substantially along with the rest of the company.

"Long term, it's most cost effective for us to control our own costs and our own destiny," he said.

The company currently operates two jets, which are in service three to four days a week.

New sidewalks ordered

Despite the loud objections from a handful of property owners, City Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to order installation of sidewalks in 14 separate locations.

The sidewalks will be installed on North 16th Street, East Capitol Avenue, Interchange Avenue, Capitol Way, West Broadway, West Thayer, Lockport Street, Hoover Avenue and Dominion Street.

"With the lack of sidewalks in this area, we are receiving complaints and concerns about how are we supposed to get from point A to point B without walking in the street," said City Engineer Mel Bullinger.

Under the city ordinance, property owners in the area would have to foot the bill for their installation. Five of them showed up at Tuesday's meeting to object to the order, saying the sidewalks would see little use and would require a financial hardship.

"I can't understand why it's so easy for you guys to spend our money on something that's not going to be used," said Robert Savegeau, owner of an office building at 1500 E. Capitol Ave.

Kim Levine, co-owner of East 40 Chophouse and Tavern at 1401 Interchange Ave., said her business recently spent $60,000 on landscaping and a patio, which it would have to meet the sidewalk requirement. Part of the expense was to meet other city requirements for green space, she said.

However, commissioners decided that sidewalks and equal treatment across the city in terms of who has to install them were most important.

"It has just gotten down to the point where you can't pick and choose who has to put sidewalks in or not. It's just something that comes with development," commissioner Steve Schwab said.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 250-8264 or jonathan.rivoli.) @bismarcktribune.com