Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Change of Ownership Gas Station Feasibility Study in Alaska
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Alaska, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the Fairbanks-College, AK Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Fairbanks-College, AK Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Fairbanks among metropolitan areas, ranked by 120 loans
Among metro and micro areas, Fairbanks ranks 431 of 928 by loans, with 120 approvals over FY2017 to FY2026 and $73.7 million gross. Larger tickets mark Fairbanks. The Fairbanks median of $250,000 is 1.20x the national figure; in Fairbanks, half of loans span $113,750 to $532,125. The gap between $113,750 and $532,125 in Fairbanks shows how varied borrowers are. Fairbanks offers no typical loan in Fairbanks.
By program, Fairbanks holds 103 SBA 7(a) loans beside 17 SBA 504 loans. Franchised businesses in Fairbanks make up 8.3% of loans. In Fairbanks-College, AK, classes rank limited-service restaurant with 8, dental office with 5 and full-service restaurant with 5. 86 Fairbanks loans belong to no tracked class. The 120 total counts them. The Fairbanks project county is Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK alone, at 120 loans in Fairbanks.
Fairbanks-College, AK: lenders behind the 120 loans
In Fairbanks, this section reflects SBA's records of loans a lender retains or retained in Fairbanks, under the holder note, and claim nothing about requirements. Fairbanks holders should be read that way. In Fairbanks, leading SBA 7(a) holders are Northrim Bank with 42 loans worth $13.9 million; Newtek Bank, National Association with 7 loans worth $5.4 million in Fairbanks; Wells Fargo Bank National in Fairbanks Association with 7 loans worth $4.4 million. In the Fairbanks SBA 504 table, the leading holders are Evergreen Business Capital with 17 loans worth $11.7 million. In Fairbanks, concentration among top holders says little. A Fairbanks study should stand on evidence alone in Fairbanks.
Cancellation floor, Fairbanks: 19.0% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals. A Fairbanks ceiling that treats approvals without funds as cancelled remains hidden, nothing guessed for Fairbanks. The Fairbanks charge-off floor for in Fairbanks the FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed cohort remains hidden, cohort thin; a Fairbanks reader should never take it for zero. Fairbanks approvals peaked in FY2021, at 17 loans. The Fairbanks area rests on that county as SBA records it per the July 2023 delineation, consequently this loan, if its county is blank is left out of every area. The 120 loans in Fairbanks-College, AK include those in no named class in Fairbanks.
Fairbanks: testing a project in Fairbanks-College, AK
A Fairbanks study opens with demand. Study the market around the proposed site, not a metropolitan area, and let revenue survive a slow ramp. Fairbanks cost is the second test. Tickets cluster near $250,000 at the median, so every line item wants a source, also equipment and fees itemised for Fairbanks. Fairbanks debt service coverage ties it together. Show coverage at the requested loan alongside a weaker revenue case, naming the cushion left in Fairbanks. An independent Fairbanks appraisal comes last, so the study's own comparables must explain any gap in Fairbanks. In Fairbanks, 120 loans spread over many neighbourhoods, and a Fairbanks study must say which it targets. With Fairbanks at 1.20x the national median in Fairbanks, projects run large in Fairbanks. The study must justify its project for Fairbanks against $250,000.
SBA loans in the Fairbanks-College, AK Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 120 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $73.7 million |
| Median loan | $250,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $113,750 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $532,125 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 103 |
| SBA 504 loans | 17 |
| Franchise share of loans | 8.3% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 431 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.20x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 19.0% |
|---|---|
| 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 Fairbanks-College, AK Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 5 | $2.4 million |
| FY2018 | 13 | $7.3 million |
| FY2019 | 5 | $1.0 million |
| FY2020 | 14 | $3.5 million |
| FY2021 | 17 | $13.8 million |
| FY2022 | 13 | $5.9 million |
| FY2023 | 16 | $8.8 million |
| FY2024 | 17 | $17.4 million |
| FY2025 | 12 | $6.5 million |
| FY2026 | 8 | $7.2 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 86 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 8 |
| Dental office | 5 |
| Full-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 |
|---|---|---|
| Evergreen Business Capital | 17 | $11.7 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Northrim Bank | 42 | $13.9 million |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 7 | $5.4 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 7 | $4.4 million |
| First Internet Bank of Indiana | 6 | $13.4 million |
| Mt McKinley Bank | 6 | $820,000 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK | 120 |
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-21820.
Related feasibility study pages
- Alaska feasibility studies for SBA and USDA loans
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
- Feasibility Study Data for the Anchorage, AK Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Fairbanks-College, AK 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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