Worked Example: SBA 504 Gas Station Feasibility Study in Illinois
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Illinois, financed with an SBA 504 loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Bloomington, IL Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
For Bloomington, SBA shows $99.0 million on 175 loans, FY2017 to FY2026. By loan count, Bloomington stands 342 of 928 among all areas. Bloomington loans center on $334,000, the median. Bloomington middle half: $125,000 to $631,500. Set beside the nation, Bloomington stands at 1.61x. By program, Bloomington has 139 7(a) loans and 36 504 loans. 13.7% of the loans in Bloomington carry a franchise brand. $99.0 million is the Bloomington dollar total.
In Bloomington, the tracked classes lead with limited-service restaurant (10), hotel and motel (8), and dental office (5). Fourth in Bloomington is child care center, with 5 loans. 123 Bloomington loans sit in no tracked class. Most Bloomington credit is general business lending. Bloomington consists of McLean County, IL, where SBA places 175 loans.
SBA lists the current holder of each Bloomington loan; the originator may differ. Bloomington 7(a) holders include 13 loans at Busey Bank ($18.5 million) and 9 loans at Northeast Bank (ME) ($1.3 million). Bloomington lists, for 504, Small Business Growth Corporation with 23 loans ($13.7 million) and SomerCor 504, Inc. with 13 loans ($9.2 million). A Bloomington borrower reads these rows as context. No Bloomington row recommends any institution.
Bloomington cancellation, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals: 11.3%. It is a floor for Bloomington. Treating undisbursed Bloomington loans as cancelled gives 14.8%, the ceiling. A rate needs more Bloomington disbursed loans. Bloomington charge-offs are withheld, not zero. Bloomington rates are floors. Loans season, and Bloomington events can still raise them. Bloomington loans are placed by county name. For Bloomington, the July 2023 list governs. Bloomington omits loans with no county match. The Bloomington total includes loans outside the classes.
The Bloomington trend peaks in FY2021 with 21 loans ($11.0 million) and bottoms in FY2026 with 15 ($6.3 million). The first year, FY2017, shows 16 loans and $7.5 million for Bloomington. The latest year, FY2026, shows 15 loans and $6.3 million for Bloomington. A Bloomington study weighs local demand against McLean County, IL competitors, not national patterns. The Bloomington budget is priced against a $334,000 median. Bloomington sits at 1.61x nationally; site, build and equipment all count. Debt service in Bloomington is tested downside first. Bloomington lenders read the floors above. Bloomington value is tested against cost by appraisal. Bloomington comparables decide how. Sources and uses in Bloomington must tie to bids near McLean County, IL. Beside McLean County, IL findings, the Bloomington study lists what it could not test.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 175 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $99.0 million |
| Median loan | $334,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $125,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $631,500 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 139 |
| SBA 504 loans | 36 |
| Franchise share of loans | 13.7% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 342 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.61x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 11.3% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 14.8% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Bloomington, IL Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 16 | $7.5 million |
| FY2018 | 18 | $5.6 million |
| FY2019 | 19 | $13.8 million |
| FY2020 | 18 | $6.3 million |
| FY2021 | 21 | $11.0 million |
| FY2022 | 16 | $13.7 million |
| FY2023 | 18 | $6.5 million |
| FY2024 | 16 | $18.4 million |
| FY2025 | 18 | $9.8 million |
| FY2026 | 15 | $6.3 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 123 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 10 |
| Hotel and motel | 8 |
| Dental office | 5 |
| Child care center | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Growth Corporation | 23 | $13.7 million |
| SomerCor 504, Inc. | 13 | $9.2 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Bank and Trust Company | 22 | $9.4 million |
| Busey Bank | 13 | $18.5 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 9 | $3.0 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 9 | $1.3 million |
| The Huntington National Bank | 6 | $2.4 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| McLean County, IL | 175 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-14010.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Illinois, financed with an SBA 504 loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Bloomington, IL Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
Contact Us