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 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
For Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, SBA's files carry 389 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, totalling $194.4 million in gross approvals. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ranks among all metro and micro areas, ranked by approvals, in place 197 of 928. The core of Davenport-Moline-Rock Island lending spans $82,700 to $550,900, centred on a middle figure of $208,000; so the median stands at 1.00x the national median. Around Scott County, IA, SBA 7(a) holds 327 loans, and 62 under SBA 504. Franchises make up 16.7% of the loans.
Next, across the asset classes we list for Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, full-service restaurant heads the list with 28 loans, followed by limited-service restaurant (18) and hotel and motel, 14 loans. Also 262 loans in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island sit outside every class. By county, Scott County, IA leads with 233 loans, then Rock Island County, IL (112), Henry County, IL (37) and Mercer County, IL (7).
Institutions named for Davenport-Moline-Rock Island are lifted from SBA's released Davenport-Moline-Rock Island records of the 389 loans in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, whoever holds or held them. The records show where loans sit, not any lender's requirements. In the same files, in the 7(a) program near Scott County, IA, SBA's records name U.S. Bank, National Association at 40 loans and $5.5 million, followed by IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union, holding 31 loans worth $10.6 million. Also, under 504 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, the records show Small Business Growth Corporation, with 35 loans for $20.7 million; after it, Iowa Business Growth Company, with 8 loans for $5.2 million. A borrower near Scott County, IA can ask any lender what documentation it wants, then write the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island study to answer those requests.
Looking at Davenport-Moline-Rock Island approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, not below 9.6% ended in cancellation after approval in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, a floor; the full Davenport-Moline-Rock Island figure is no lower. Among disbursed Davenport-Moline-Rock Island loans approved from FY2017 to FY2021, 6.0% are charged off so far, a floor. Beyond that, the five-year charge-off figure for Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is withheld for lack of loans, and it stays empty, not zero. For the record, year by year, Davenport-Moline-Rock Island crested in FY2025 at 50 loans and $26.1 million, and was weakest in FY2023 at 22 loans and $12.1 million.
For Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, begin with demand: who shops in Scott County, IA, who works in Rock Island County, IL, set against Davenport-Moline-Rock Island as a whole, and what gap the 28 full-service restaurant loans leave. Cost: $208,000 is the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island median and $82,700 to $550,900 the middle band, so a Scott County, IA site should cost itself against that $208,000 marker. Repayment: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island coverage absorbs a slow year against the 9.6% floor for cancellation plus the 6.0% floor for charge-off. The Scott County, IA appraisal must support the value assumed. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is cut from the July 2023 map; any loan whose home county is not matched is excluded from all areas, as in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, whereas the totals include loans without a place in the class list.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 389 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $194.4 million |
| Median loan | $208,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $82,700 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $550,900 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 327 |
| SBA 504 loans | 62 |
| Franchise share of loans | 16.7% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 197 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.00x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 11.3% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.0% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 167 |
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 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 39 | $9.4 million |
| FY2018 | 29 | $18.3 million |
| FY2019 | 34 | $10.9 million |
| FY2020 | 43 | $24.5 million |
| FY2021 | 40 | $23.3 million |
| FY2022 | 44 | $31.1 million |
| FY2023 | 22 | $12.1 million |
| FY2024 | 40 | $14.5 million |
| FY2025 | 50 | $26.1 million |
| FY2026 | 48 | $24.2 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 262 |
| Full-service restaurant | 28 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 18 |
| Hotel and motel | 14 |
| Fitness center | 11 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 7 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 6 |
| Beauty salon | 6 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 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 | 35 | $20.7 million |
| Iowa Business Growth Company | 8 | $5.2 million |
| E.C.I.A. Business Growth, Inc. | 8 | $3.6 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 40 | $5.5 million |
| IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union | 31 | $10.6 million |
| Quad City Bank and Trust Company | 30 | $8.6 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 19 | $1.5 million |
| TBK Bank, SSB | 16 | $8.3 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 |
|---|---|
| Scott County, IA | 233 |
| Rock Island County, IL | 112 |
| Henry County, IL | 37 |
| Mercer County, IL | 7 |
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-19340.
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 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-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.
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