Windsor developer Martin Lind has won the federal go-ahead to open a U.S. Customs office at his Discovery Air development adjacent to Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection last week announced Lind's Water Valley Cos. and 23 other sites nationwide had been selected for its reimbursable services agreement program. The program allows Discovery Air to get reimbursed the cost of hiring customs officers to staff an office in Loveland.

Under the program, Customs can only reimburse salaries and overtime for no more than five full-time officers. Discovery Air expects to hire one full-time agent.

Whether Lind receives any financial help from the cities of Loveland and Fort Collins, which own the airport, remains to be seen.

The airport commission, which oversees airport operations, balked in September at Lind's initial request for $200,000 a year for five years to pay for a full-time Customs agent. While it supported the idea for a Customs office, it couldn't see a way to provide the financial contribution given it's trying to build a new airport terminal. Instead, it sent Loveland Economic Development Director Kelly Jones to negotiate a potential decrease in funding with Lind.

Jones declined comment until after she briefs the airport commission on Thursday.

Lind said despite the airport commission's hesitancy, the city of Loveland may want to help anyway, "as it's an incredible asset to have in Loveland regardless of the aviation aspect." He said his company committed to the program despite lack of financial support from the airport commission.

"I couldn't put this important public service opportunity at risk," he said, so his company is assuming all the financial responsibility, at least for now. "This will be a tremendous benefit to our region, and the list of services that can now be obtained from our Discovery Air facility in Loveland in astounding. It's not just about a business person in a private jet."

Companies will pay Discovery Air an as-yet-undetermined amount per flight to use the Customs office. Those fees will be set until once Lind determines the costs to build and operate the facility.

"It's our hope by my company taking all the risk on this and proving its value to our region, then maybe it will be recognized by the airport and the region that this is a big deal and it should be supported by a government and not a private entity," Lind said. "However, for the time being, our tenants specifically need the service desperately and it's my fiduciary duty as the landlord to do everything I can to make my tenants more successful."

The Customs office would largely benefit some of the region's largest and wealthiest businesses that fly internationally from Northern Colorado Regional Airport, but it would be open to the public for immigration services, I-94 arrival/departure record verification, gun registration and global entry registration. It could also help attract and retain large international businesses that need airport access, commissioners said.

Discovery Air, a four-building campus that expands hangars and commercial space just south of the airport, currently houses aircraft flown by Woodward Inc. and agriculture company Nutrien, which has its international headquarters in Canada. Both have long sought a Customs office in Northern Colorado.

When the Customs office opens in Loveland will depend "100 percent" on Customs, Lind said, "although they seem to be enthusiastic about this particular site. It gives us optimism that it will be sooner than later, however, we do need to build out the tenant improvements in their space," which have not been designed yet.

Having to take off and land at another airport to clear Customs is a large expense of time and money, pilots have told the Coloradoan and the airport commission.

When flights leave Loveland for any international destination, they need to clear Customs and Border Patrol for the country they are flying in to. So when flying to Canada, for instance, they have to clear Canadian customs when they arrive in Canada.

When flying back to the U.S., they must land at an airport that offers U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, including Billings or Great Falls, Montana; Casper, Wyoming; Rocky Mountain Regional Airport in Broomfield; Centennial Airport in south metro Denver; or Denver International Airport.

Once a Customs office opens in Loveland, Nutrien and other international flights can take a direct route. "I'm 100 percent convinced that we will make this a successful venture and it will indeed be recognized as a big deal for Northern Colorado in the long run."

Northern Colorado Regional Airport Commission meeting

The Northern Colorado Regional Airport Commission will meet from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at the administration building 4900 Earhart Road, Loveland.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins-Loveland airport gets clearance for Customs office