Gas Station Feasibility Study in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area

A fuel market with one dominant 504 holder

Milwaukee-Waukesha holds position 14 of 600 in fuel-retail lending nationwide, and fuel sits fourth, 4 of 39, in the area's own class mix. The location quotient of 1.64x says stations draw a bigger share of local SBA activity than they do nationally. The record counts 72 loans and $64.2 million across FY2017 to FY2026. The median is $827,000, a mere 0.79x of what stations borrow nationally; a middle band of tickets spans $414,000 and $1.2 million.

Program use is 51 loans on SBA 7(a) against 21 on SBA 504. Franchise flags cover 72.2% of the loans. Two cautions about the class. It is defined by the borrower's industry, which means a truck stop or travel center sits in the same code as an ordinary pump site, and a station with no store at all does too. No industry code in this data covers EV charging, so a study of a charging-led site cannot lean on these figures.

Lenders and counties

The 504 side is remarkably concentrated: WBD, Inc. is the holder of 21 loans and $12.9 million. Under 7(a), Byline Bank has 17 loans and $17.9 million, Bank Five Nine 8 loans and $9.0 million, Waukesha State Bank 5 loans and $6.1 million. These are SBA holder listings and imply nothing about any bank's practices. Milwaukee County, WI carries 41 loans, Waukesha County, WI 16, Washington County, WI 10 and Ozaukee County, WI 5, so the suburban ring supplies a large share of the record.

Cancellation after approval reaches at least 18.5% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals; counting undisbursed loans as cancelled gives a ceiling that also reads 18.5%. The charge-off rate is withheld for lack of loans and is not zero. The yearly series prints FY2017 with 6 loans and $4.6 million, FY2019 with 9 and $11.2 million, FY2020 with 7 and $4.5 million, FY2021 with 18 and $17.4 million, FY2022 with 9 and $8.2 million and FY2024 with 7 and $5.6 million. FY2021 was the peak. Several other years are withheld. The metro is the one SBA's project county falls into under the 2023 delineation.

What a Milwaukee fuel study has to test

The work begins with gallons and in-store sales projected against traffic at the exact corner, followed by a hard look at the fuel supply contract, and cost tanks, canopy and environmental closure next to the building itself. It should show whether margin supports debt service coverage on a request near the $827,000 median. Valuation has to pull land and buildings apart from the operating business, since brand and inside sales carry much of the worth. Nothing here assures that a loan would be approved.