Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Gym Feasibility Study in Hawaii
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gym project in Hawaii, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Hilo-Kailua, HI Micro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
The Hilo-Kailua micropolitan area logged 232 approved loans and $82.4 million in FY2017 to FY2026. Hilo-Kailua sits at 286 of 928 among areas ranked by loans. Hilo-Kailua loans center on $58,500, the median. For Hilo-Kailua, the middle half lies at $40,000 to $287,750. 0.28x is the Hilo-Kailua median set beside the national one. In Hilo-Kailua, 213 loans were 7(a) and 19 were 504. Loan Analytics withholds the Hilo-Kailua franchise share, since fewer than 30 loans stand behind it. Those 232 Hilo-Kailua loans carry $82.4 million.
In Hilo-Kailua, automotive mechanical repair leads at 13 loans. Limited-service restaurant follows with 10. Full-service restaurant follows with 8. That is the Hilo-Kailua class lead. Fourth in Hilo-Kailua is medical office, with 7 loans. Outside every class stand 165 Hilo-Kailua loans, so each Hilo-Kailua project is judged on its own facts. Hilo-Kailua consists of Hawaii County, HI, where SBA places 232 loans.
Holders in Hilo-Kailua are the current holders of the loans. Hilo-Kailua holders under 7(a) include 12 loans at First Hawaiian Bank ($1.2 million) and 11 loans at Readycap Lending, LLC ($1.3 million). No Hilo-Kailua 504 lender meets the listing minimum. For a Hilo-Kailua borrower, the rows are context only. No Hilo-Kailua row states a holder's terms.
Of Hilo-Kailua approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, 13.3% were cancelled, a floor. Treating undisbursed Hilo-Kailua loans as cancelled gives 16.6%, the ceiling. Hilo-Kailua charge-offs: 5.2% among 96 loans disbursed FY2017 to FY2021, a floor. Loan Analytics withholds the Hilo-Kailua five-year rate, since fewer than 30 loans stand behind it. Treat Hilo-Kailua rates as floors. Later events lift them, Hilo-Kailua included. Hilo-Kailua loans are placed by county name. For Hilo-Kailua, the July 2023 list governs. Hilo-Kailua omits loans with no county match. Hilo-Kailua totals count loans outside the tracked classes.
Hilo-Kailua approvals were thinnest in FY2020 (8 loans, $2.8 million) and heaviest in FY2017 (36 loans, $15.0 million). FY2026 closes the Hilo-Kailua series at 22 loans, $7.7 million. In Hilo-Kailua, demand testing starts with Hawaii County, HI and the businesses already serving it. The Hilo-Kailua median is $58,500. Set Hilo-Kailua budgets beside it; nationally it is 0.28x. Hilo-Kailua coverage cannot assume smooth sailing. Hilo-Kailua floors say why. The Hilo-Kailua appraiser reads local comparables. The Hilo-Kailua study reconciles them to cost. Absorption near Hawaii County, HI is tested for Hilo-Kailua on a slow case. Beside Hawaii County, HI findings, the Hilo-Kailua study lists what it could not test.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 232 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $82.4 million |
| Median loan | $58,500 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $40,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $287,750 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 213 |
| SBA 504 loans | 19 |
| Franchise share of loans | withheld |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 286 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.28x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 13.3% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 16.6% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.2% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 96 |
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 loans approved in the Hilo-Kailua, HI Micro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 36 | $15.0 million |
| FY2018 | 24 | $4.9 million |
| FY2019 | 22 | $9.0 million |
| FY2020 | 8 | $2.8 million |
| FY2021 | 22 | $6.9 million |
| FY2022 | 13 | $3.1 million |
| FY2023 | 22 | $5.1 million |
| FY2024 | 34 | $17.7 million |
| FY2025 | 29 | $10.1 million |
| FY2026 | 22 | $7.7 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 165 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 13 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 10 |
| Full-service restaurant | 8 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 7 |
| Fitness center | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Central Pacific Bank | 90 | $3.6 million |
| Bank of Hawaii | 13 | $1.4 million |
| First Hawaiian Bank | 12 | $1.2 million |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | 11 | $1.3 million |
| Celtic Bank Corporation | 10 | $9.6 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.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Hawaii County, HI | 232 |
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.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
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 MT-25900.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gym project in Hawaii, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Hilo-Kailua, HI Micro 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.
Start with the data.
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