Boston: fitness center

Boston approved fitness center loans: 315 in FY2017 to FY2026, worth $135.2 million. Boston ranks 6 of 608 for the class on 315 loans among metro areas; in Boston, the class ranks 4 of 39. Boston's location quotient reads 1.08x on 315 loans: a somewhat heavier concentration. In Boston, ranks and the 1.08x quotient, from 315 loans, distinguish the class; Boston size is 0.81x the national median.

$210,000 marks the median of 315 loans, below the national figure (0.81x), and $65,000 to $495,900 bounds Boston's middle half. Of 315 loans in Boston, 281 used 7(a) and 34 used 504. 32.4% is the franchise share of 315 loans; the rest are independents.

Boston's 7(a) table, 44 loans at Eastern Bank, $6.4 million; 26 at Rockland Trust Company, $6.4 million; 19 at TD Bank, National Association, $1.4 million; 14 at Salem Five Cents Savings Bank, $3.9 million; 10 at Webster Five Cents Savings Bank, $3.7 million. Boston's 504 table, 12 loans at Bay Colony Development Corporation, $14.5 million; 11 at New England Certified Development Corporation, $22.2 million. Boston: holders under 5 loans go unnamed. Boston county counts, 315 loans: Middlesex County, MA 91; Norfolk County, MA 69; Essex County, MA 48; Suffolk County, MA 41; Rockingham County, NH 35; Plymouth County, MA 26; Strafford County, NH 5.

The Boston loans' fate

17.6% at minimum: Boston's cancelled share through FY2024, counting Boston's undisbursed loans: 20.1%. Boston: 7.1% or more are charged off among 113 FY2017 to FY2021 loans. Boston withholds its five-year measure, not zero. Boston floors may rise with open loans. Boston approvals ran from 37 loans and $11.4 million in FY2017 to 34 loans and $13.1 million in FY2026, peaking at 42 in FY2025 and dipping to 16 in FY2021. Boston loans per year: FY2017 37, FY2018 32, FY2019 41, FY2020 20, FY2021 16, FY2022 35, FY2023 24, FY2024 34, FY2025 42, FY2026 34. Yearly dollars: FY2017 $11.4 million, FY2018 $15.9 million, FY2019 $11.1 million, FY2020 $12.2 million, FY2021 $9.1 million, FY2022 $17.5 million, FY2023 $10.9 million, FY2024 $17.3 million, FY2025 $16.7 million, FY2026 $13.1 million.

Boston: the study's tests

For 315 approvals in Boston, appraisers weigh lease and membership. Boston approvals ran from 16 in FY2021 to 42 in FY2025; for Boston, plan for slow signups. Boston's quotient, 1.08x: count rivals by price tier. Across 315 loans, membership retention in Boston carries $210,000. Boston: facing weak signups, debt service holds with $135.2 million approved. For 315 loans in Boston, buildout costs outside $65,000 to $495,900 need cases.

Boston's 315 loans are placed by project county. Boston follows the July 2023 delineation. Boston drops unplaceable counties from $135.2 million. Treat 315 loans as a guide to Boston, not a census.

SBA fitness center loans in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	315
Gross dollars approved	$135.2 million
Median loan	$210,000
Middle half of loans, from	$65,000
Middle half of loans, to	$495,900
SBA 7(a) loans	281
SBA 504 loans	34
Franchise share of loans	32.4%
Rank among metro and micro areas for fitness center loans	6 of 608
Rank of fitness center among the classes in this area	4 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	1.08x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.81x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	17.6%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	20.1%
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	7.1%
Charged off within five years of approval	withheld
Loans in that cohort	113

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 fitness center loans approved in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	37	$11.4 million
FY2018	32	$15.9 million
FY2019	41	$11.1 million
FY2020	20	$12.2 million
FY2021	16	$9.1 million
FY2022	35	$17.5 million
FY2023	24	$10.9 million
FY2024	34	$17.3 million
FY2025	42	$16.7 million
FY2026	34	$13.1 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Bay Colony Development Corporation	12	$14.5 million
New England Certified Development Corporation	11	$22.2 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Eastern Bank	44	$6.4 million
Rockland Trust Company	26	$6.4 million
TD Bank, National Association	19	$1.4 million
Salem Five Cents Savings Bank	14	$3.9 million
Webster Five Cents Savings Bank	10	$3.7 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
Middlesex County, MA	91
Norfolk County, MA	69
Essex County, MA	48
Suffolk County, MA	41
Rockingham County, NH	35
Plymouth County, MA	26
Strafford County, NH	5

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.

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 MA-14460-C33.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a fitness center project in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area