Construction began Friday on a 33,000-square-foot jet hangar at Concord's Buchanan Field, part of an overall effort to attract traveling executives to the general aviation airport.
When the hangar is finished in early 2008, it could be home base to five to 10 corporate jets, depending on their size, said airport director Keith Freitas.
In March, workers broke ground on a separate 40,000-square-foot jet center that will house seven to 15 jets. That building will have fueling capabilities, along with plush lobbies and bathrooms. There will also be rental-car services and transportation to local athletic clubs for those looking to kill time between trips.
The projects represent the first expansion efforts at the airport in 15 years, and officials say business there will be increasing during the next 20 years.
There are 29 jets housed at Buchanan now, and the new hangars will allow for larger jets that won't fit in existing space.
Retail
Shares of Sharper Image Corp., the San Francisco-based seller of massage chairs and motorized tie racks, surged as much as 30 percent after the company denied a report that it may face bankruptcy if it's forced to pay as much as $900 million to settle a lawsuit.
Sharper Image climbed 50 cents, or 13 percent, to $4.35 at midday trading. The shares Thursday plunged 32 percent, the most in 20 years.
The Daily Business Review reported that financial experts for Sharper Image were expected to testify in federal court Friday that the company can't afford to settle a class-action lawsuit about its air purifiers brought by 27 state attorneys general.
The plaintiffs are demanding that the company compensate customers for $300 air purifiers they say are ineffective.
"Sharper Image did not participate in this article, nor does it know where the reporter got this hypothetical and arbitrary figure," the company said Thursday after U.S. markets closed. "Furthermore, Sharper Image does not have an expert validating or testifying to this in court."
Compiled from wire and staff reports. Got Bay Area business news? Reach Drew Voros at 925-943-8099 or [email protected] .
