Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Cleveland, OH Metro Area

Cleveland gyms borrow small, and Huntington dominates

The median fitness center loan around Cleveland is $120,400, only 0.46x the median for the class across the country, and half of the loans fall between $45,000 and $350,000. That light ticket is the plainest feature of the cell: 161 approvals add up to just $47.1 million over FY2017 to FY2026. Cleveland takes spot 18 of 608 among all areas for gyms, and gyms take 3 of 39 among Cleveland's classes; a location quotient of 1.06x leaves the local weight close to the national mix.

Franchised units are 34.2%. Loan Analytics does not print the program counts for SBA 7(a) and for SBA 504. The Huntington National Bank holds 95 SBA 7(a) loans and $21.1 million, a dominant position. Next, U.S. Bank, National Association holds 10 ($6.6 million), KeyBank National Association 7 ($1.5 million) and PNC Bank, National Association 6 ($455,400). SBA 504 shows no lender large enough to name. The list reports SBA's holder data and passes no judgment on any bank.

Counties and years

Cuyahoga County, OH carries 91 loans, Medina County, OH 31, Lorain County, OH 18 and Lake County, OH 12. Yearly counts are 24 loans in FY2017 and again in FY2018, 12 in FY2019, 17 in FY2022 and 24 in FY2024, with 15 loans and $7.8 million in FY2026. Loan Analytics withholds the counts and dollars for FY2020 and FY2021 under its small-count rule, which protects borrowers who could be identified or whose figures could be rebuilt from other published values, so the page leaves those two years blank and does not treat them as nil.

At least 14.8% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals fell away before closing; Loan Analytics prints no ceiling. Among the 59 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, 8.5% are already written off, a minimum, and the five-year rate is withheld. With only 59 loans in that group, one or two defaults can move the rate sharply. Cleveland's total includes a loan if the 2023 delineation puts its project county there.

Testing a Cleveland gym

A fitness study should measure the member pool near a Cuyahoga, Medina or Lorain County site and the clubs and studios already competing. Equipment and floor work must be priced against $120,400, and a request well above $350,000 needs a clear reason. Retention and monthly dues must carry debt service. Past loans, 161 of them, decide nothing for a given project.