Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area

Third nationally, near the national share

Fitness centers in the Chicago region rank 3 of 608 metro and micro areas by loans, with 390 approved from FY2017 to FY2026 totalling $195.8 million. The class is 4 of 39 locally. A location quotient of 1.01x says the share of lending is almost identical to the national share. Franchise flags appear on 48.7% of the loans, so a branded studio or club needs its franchisor terms and the brand's unit results set beside this file.

Size and structure

The median loan is $295,000, 1.14x the class median nationwide, and the loans around the middle span $114,475 to $553,750. Program counts put 7(a) at 352 of the 390 loans and 504 at 38. The study has to price equipment, leasehold improvement and the lease, and keep fixed costs apart from membership revenue.

Lenders and counties

Small Business Growth Corporation is listed with 15 504 loans worth $20.2 million and SomerCor 504, Inc. with 13 worth $16.5 million. Among 7(a) holders, Huntington (The Huntington National Bank) is shown with 81 loans worth $18.7 million, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association with 27, Byline Bank with 18 worth $20.6 million, U.S. Bank, National Association with 16 and Centier Bank with 10. These attributions are SBA's own and describe holdings only. Cook County, IL leads with 176 loans, then DuPage with 58, Lake, IL with 49 and Will with 31; Indiana's Lake County has 25 and Porter 8. Approvals ran from 26 loans in FY2021 to 58 loans in FY2025.

Outcomes and what to test

SBA counts cancellations of 11.8% or more among FY2017 to FY2024 approvals and charge-offs of 10.5% or more among FY2017 to FY2021 disbursements; both are floors. In the five-year cohort of 162 loans, 3.1% were charged off. Loan Analytics withholds the cancellation ceiling because the data behind it is thin, and a blank is not zero. Chicago's boundary is the July 2023 delineation, and a project in a county that cannot be placed is not counted. A feasibility study for a fitness center must test membership demand and competing clubs within the drive-time radius, the lease and space cost per member, equipment and buildout budgets, debt service coverage including the seasonality of joins, and the appraisal.