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 Kahului-Wailuku, HI Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
For Kahului-Wailuku, SBA's files carry 286 approved loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $84.0 million of gross dollars. Kahului-Wailuku stands among all such areas nationwide, counted by loans, in position 250 of 928. Also, the middle half of Kahului-Wailuku loans spans $50,000 to $300,000, with a typical loan near $100,000, which is 0.48x the nationwide median. By program, Kahului-Wailuku shows 220 loans in 7(a) and 66 under 504. Franchised units took 3.5% of the record.
Inside the business classes we break out for Kahului-Wailuku, limited-service restaurant leads with 14 loans, then rehabilitation and therapy clinic (9) and full-service restaurant, 8 loans. Also 216 loans in Kahului-Wailuku sit outside every class. Every loan in Kahului-Wailuku falls in Maui County, HI, at 286 loans, so a study around Kahului-Wailuku a one-county exercise.
Names listed for Kahului-Wailuku appear in SBA's published Kahului-Wailuku records of the 286 guaranteed loans in Kahului-Wailuku, whoever holds or held them; those records show each file yet say nothing of lender practice. In the same files, for Kahului-Wailuku loans under 7(a), the biggest holders are Central Pacific Bank (108 loans, $6.0 million), followed by First Hawaiian Bank, holding 19 loans worth $1.5 million. In the 504 program near Maui County, HI, SBA names HEDCO Local Development Corporation, holding 55 loans worth $25.3 million. A borrower near Maui County, HI can ask the leading Kahului-Wailuku holder Central Pacific Bank or other Kahului-Wailuku holders near Maui County, HI which documents it requires, then build the Kahului-Wailuku study to meet those answers.
Among Kahului-Wailuku approvals from FY2017 through FY2024, at least 11.2% ended in cancellation after approval in Kahului-Wailuku, which is a floor; the full Kahului-Wailuku share can only be higher. Among disbursed Kahului-Wailuku loans approved from FY2017 through FY2021, 5.4% stand charged off so far, a floor. Further, the within-five-years rate for Kahului-Wailuku is held back for lack of loans, so it stays blank, not zero. Beyond that, in the yearly line, Kahului-Wailuku hit its high in FY2018 at 49 loans and $16.1 million, and was weakest in FY2019 at 17 loans and $3.3 million.
Around Maui County, HI, demand comes first: who lives in Maui County, HI, who visits from nearby, set against Kahului-Wailuku overall, and how much room 14 limited-service restaurant loans leave. Budget: $100,000 is the Kahului-Wailuku median and $50,000 to $300,000 the central range, so a Maui County, HI site should cost itself against that $100,000 midpoint. Repayment: Kahului-Wailuku coverage withstands a weak year against the 11.2% rate of cancellation and 5.4% rate of charge-off. An appraisal in Kahului-Wailuku must back the worth the loan uses. Kahului-Wailuku uses the July 2023 map; an approval whose project county is not matched drops out of each area, Kahului-Wailuku no exception, and the totals include loans sitting outside the listed classes.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 286 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $84.0 million |
| Median loan | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $300,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 220 |
| SBA 504 loans | 66 |
| Franchise share of loans | 3.5% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 250 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.48x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 11.2% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.4% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 129 |
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 Kahului-Wailuku, HI Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 33 | $10.5 million |
| FY2018 | 49 | $16.1 million |
| FY2019 | 17 | $3.3 million |
| FY2020 | 20 | $4.7 million |
| FY2021 | 28 | $8.7 million |
| FY2022 | 28 | $7.9 million |
| FY2023 | 24 | $7.5 million |
| FY2024 | 24 | $4.9 million |
| FY2025 | 46 | $15.8 million |
| FY2026 | 17 | $4.5 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 216 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 14 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 9 |
| Full-service restaurant | 8 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 6 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 5 |
| Liquor store | 5 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| HEDCO Local Development Corporation | 55 | $25.3 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Central Pacific Bank | 108 | $6.0 million |
| First Hawaiian Bank | 19 | $1.5 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 13 | $3.2 million |
| BayFirst National Bank | 11 | $1.6 million |
| Bank of Hawaii | 9 | $695,000 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Maui County, HI | 286 |
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-27980.
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 Kahului-Wailuku, HI Metro 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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