Gas Station Feasibility Study in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area

Providence fuel retail: loans a quarter of the national size

What sets the Providence-Warwick cell apart is how small its fuel loans are: a median of $250,000 reaches only 0.24x of what gas stations and truck stops borrow at the median nationally. Loans number 41 and amount to $14.3 million over the whole period. Fuel retail takes 9 of 39 in the metro, which is itself 31 of 600, and the location quotient of 0.86x leaves the share a little under the national one. Franchises make up 19.5% of loans, so independents account for most of the fuel retail financed here.

Programs, lender and states

Loans in the middle half run from $95,000 to $522,000. Counting by program gives 31 for 7(a) and 10 for 504. TD Bank, National Association is the only name listed: 5 loans worth $165,000, a tiny average. The metro crosses a state line: Bristol County, MA has 15 loans, Kent County, RI has 11 and Providence County, RI has 9. Those are SBA's records of where loans sit and what they were for, no more.

Under the industry code, travel centers and truck stops are counted beside fuel stops that sell no groceries or snacks. Years that print: 6 loans in FY2018 ($1.7 million), 6 in FY2019 ($1.5 million), 5 in FY2021 ($2.2 million) and 5 in FY2024 ($2.3 million). Seven further years sit below the printing threshold, as do both outcome rates. The page therefore says nothing about cancellation or charge-off, and nothing about missing years. Counties on the 2023 list place each loan in the metro.

The loan sizes deserve a closer look. With the middle half beginning at $95,000, many of these loans are far too small to build a station, so a study seeking a larger sum should say precisely what the money buys. The metro crosses a state line, and the three counties named sit in two states, so rules on tanks, permits and environmental cleanup may differ across the line. The study should name the jurisdiction of the site and the rules that apply there instead of assuming a regional standard.

Testing a New England fuel site

A study should begin with what a loan of this size can buy. A median of $250,000 suggests small sites, equipment or working capital rather than new canopies and tanks, so the plan should state what is being financed. It then has to test traffic, gallons and convenience sales, competing stations within reach, and environmental history of the parcel. Cash flow must cover debt service when margins narrow. If the project is a purchase of real estate, property and business should be valued apart. Nothing printed here promises approval.