Worked Example: Conventional Bank Marina Acquisition and Dock Expansion Feasibility Study in Kentucky
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a marina project in Kentucky, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the Bowling Green, KY Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Bowling Green, KY Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Fitness, repair and child care
Bowling Green, in Warren County with Allen County alongside, shows a short asset table: fitness center first with 10 loans, automotive mechanical repair with 8, child care center with 7 and limited-service restaurant with 5; 132 loans sit outside the classes. SBA approved 186 loans across FY2017 to FY2026, $67.7 million gross, rank 328 of 928; 181 are 7(a) and only 5 are 504. Median loan in Bowling Green: $149,250. Bowling Green reads 0.72x against the national figure. Within Bowling Green, half of loans are $45,000 to $453,250. Brands hold 11.8% of the count.
Warren County holds 151 loans and Allen County 22. Count was 11 loans and $2.5 million in FY2017, the low of the span, peaked at 28 loans and $9.5 million in FY2018 and ended at 19 loans and $11.1 million in FY2026. The cancellation floor, 14.1%, is high. A study for a child care center should therefore confirm licensing and staffing early; one for a gym should test churn and lease terms.
Bowling Green lenders
Bowling Green's 7(a) holders start with First Financial Bank, National Association (39 loans, $14.7 million), then U.S. Bank, National Association (32 loans, $851,800) and American Bank & Trust Company, Inc. (15 loans, $3.4 million). Bowling Green shows no 504 name on its list. Bowling Green holders are in SBA's records. Bowling Green: each name holds or held loans. Bowling Green counts describe volume, not lender practice, and Bowling Green counts state no requirement.
Bowling Green floors, with rates withheld
Bowling Green: cancelled after approval at least 14.1% of Bowling Green's approvals. The Bowling Green window is FY2017 to FY2024. Bowling Green omits its ceiling; too few Bowling Green loans back it. Bowling Green charge-offs are withheld. The Bowling Green cohort is too thin; Bowling Green is not a zero. Open Bowling Green loans may raise every Bowling Green floor. The July 2023 delineation shapes Bowling Green. Bowling Green reads each project's county by name. Bowling Green loses a loan with no placeable county. Bowling Green counts every approval, named or not. Bowling Green work should treat a thin charge-off record as unknown, not clean, and should rest its case on site demand, cost, debt service and nearby comparables. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs every Bowling Green study. Loan Analytics prepares each Bowling Green study.
SBA loans in the Bowling Green, KY Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 186 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $67.7 million |
| Median loan | $149,250 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $45,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $453,250 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 181 |
| SBA 504 loans | 5 |
| Franchise share of loans | 11.8% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 328 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.72x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 14.1% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| 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 Bowling Green, KY Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 11 | $2.5 million |
| FY2018 | 28 | $9.5 million |
| FY2019 | 20 | $6.7 million |
| FY2020 | 16 | $4.4 million |
| FY2021 | 19 | $10.0 million |
| FY2022 | 12 | $3.4 million |
| FY2023 | 14 | $3.2 million |
| FY2024 | 22 | $10.1 million |
| FY2025 | 25 | $7.0 million |
| FY2026 | 19 | $11.1 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 132 |
| Fitness center | 10 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 8 |
| Child care center | 7 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| First Financial Bank, National Association | 39 | $14.7 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 32 | $851,800 |
| American Bank & Trust Company, Inc. | 15 | $3.4 million |
| South Central Bank, Inc. | 11 | $3.8 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 10 | $1.5 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.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Warren County, KY | 151 |
| Allen County, KY | 22 |
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-14540.
Related feasibility study pages
- Kentucky feasibility study consultant
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- SBA feasibility study consultant
- Feasibility Study Data for the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Pikeville, KY Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Owensboro, KY Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Bowling Green, KY 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.
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