Child Care Center Feasibility Study in the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area

San Antonio child care: bigger projects than the class norm

Child care centers are placed 9 of 39 among classes in SBA's San Antonio file, and the area stands 35 of 493 for the class. SBA approved 67 loans worth $91.0 million between FY2017 and FY2026. Child care takes a larger slice of local lending than of lending nationally, as the 1.22x location quotient shows. Bexar County, TX holds 43 loans, Comal County, TX 11 and Guadalupe County, TX 7, so projects outside the core county matter here.

The median loan is $722,000 and the middle half stretches from $425,000 to $2.0 million. The ratio to the national median is 1.60x, which points to purpose-built centers and land purchases more than leased storefront conversions. The programs split 54 under 7(a) and 13 under 504, and 37.3% of the loans carry a franchise, so a good share of borrowers rely on a brand's operating model.

The two holders named

Only two holders are named. LiftFund, Inc. is shown under 504 with 5 loans worth $6.3 million, and Wells Fargo Bank National Association under 7(a) with 5 loans worth $6.2 million. The San Antonio holder list reflects SBA records, yet say nothing of underwriting.

Cancelled approvals from FY2017 to FY2024 reached at least 13.2%, and the ceiling that counts undisbursed loans lands on that same 13.2%. The charge-off rate is withheld. The record shows 7 loans and $7.8 million in FY2017, 8 loans and $10.9 million in FY2019, 10 loans and $13.3 million in FY2023 and 9 loans and $15.6 million in FY2026; other years are suppressed. Family child care homes share this class's code, which means centers cannot be isolated in the totals. San Antonio totals follow the July 2023 delineation, and failed matches drop out.

What a San Antonio child care study must test

The study must size licensed capacity against working households and against vacancy at nearby centers in each county, then phase enrollment realistically: infant rooms fill slowly and carry the highest staffing ratios. With a median loan of $722,000, land, building and playground costs need careful review, and valuation should treat the real estate separately from the operating business, since a purpose-built center has few alternative users. Subsidy-funded tuition arrives on a different timetable from private pay, so coverage should be tested at partial enrollment with realistic payment timing. Parents choose centers by distance to home or work and by reputation, so the study should map both and show how the center will earn its first enrollments.