New hotel planned for Bismarck Airport

A new hotel is coming to the Bismarck Airport. The city commission approved a lease agreement Tuesday night.

A new Springhill Suites by Marriott will be built near Airport Road and University Drive. The lease agreement between the airport and New Leaf Development was approved at the city commission meeting.

“We've had our eyes on it for quite some time and you know the challenge near the airport here in Bismarck has been finding you know a piece of land,” New Leaf Development President and CEO Brett Erdmann said.

The three acre lot is owned by the city. Erdmann plans to build the 4 story hotel, a restaurant and parking lot on the spot just northwest of the airport.

Right now, the closest hotel is several miles from the airport.

“To have one closer in is going to be really helpful,” Airport Director Greg Haug said. “Because a lot of times people want to know what's the closest hotel to the airport and now we're going to have one within about a quarter of a mile from the airport.”

It's a sentiment echoed by travelers to Bismarck.

“Hotels close to the airport are preferable,” Dave Paul of Post Falls, ID said. “I mean you got shuttle service back and forth to the airport if you've got an early flight you know you can sleep in a little bit catch a shuttle get on your airplane, you don't need to rent a car a lot of times.”

“It would make sense if I'm having an early flight the next morning that way I can just drop the car off and maybe take the 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. flight that part would add some value,” John Reidelbach of Chicago, IL said.

Erdmann says they haven't settled on a restaurant for the property yet, but are looking for a higher-end franchise to occupy the spot. He says the next steps are to finish design plans for the hotel and hire a contractor, so they can break ground in the spring or summer.