SBA 504 Child Care Center Feasibility Study in Ohio

The SBA 504 book for child care centers in Ohio

Child care centers in the state received $47.9 million in gross SBA 504 dollars across 63 Ohio loans between FY2017 and FY2026. The middle of the Ohio book is $432,000; the middle half of child care centers loans starts at $261,500 and tops out at $1.1 million. Against the national child care centers median under SBA 504, the Ohio median stands at 0.57x, a lighter lean for child care centers in Ohio. Brand affiliation touches 28.6% of the child care centers loans in Ohio.

Counting loans, Ohio holds rank 8 among the states for child care centers, and inside Ohio this class takes 3 of 39 among SBA 504 classes. Approvals in Ohio peaked in FY2021 at 10 loans worth $6.2 million, and FY2026 records 5 loans for $9.0 million. A 504 loan sits on a building or long-lived equipment, with a development company's loan beside a bank's first lien, so the Ohio study has to satisfy both lenders at once. This cell isolates that program for child care centers, which the blended Ohio class page cannot do.

At the head of the Ohio holder list is Community Capital Development Corporation: 17 loans and $9.2 million. Next come Ohio Statewide Development Corporation, which holds 14 loans valued at $13.3 million, Alloy Development Co., Inc., which holds 11 loans valued at $11.8 million, Growth Capital Corp., which holds 8 loans valued at $6.5 million and Valley Economic Development Partners, Inc., which holds 6 loans valued at $3.1 million. SBA's Ohio file puts Community Capital Development Corporation first among 63 loans, where each name holds or held child care centers loans; none is rated. By area, Franklin leads with 24 loans, then Cuyahoga with 7 and Lorain with 4. Lower on the list are Butler 3, Delaware 3 and Mahoning 3.

Outcomes and data limits for Ohio

Looking at Ohio child care centers approved through FY2024, cancellations of 16.7% or more, while counting undisbursed loans as cancelled lifts the ceiling to 20.4%. The loss side is blank: the funded base is too small in Ohio, which says nothing about Ohio either way. Ohio's code lumps family child care homes together with centers, so the counts cannot say how many loans went to small in-home providers. Each Ohio loan is filed under the borrower's reported code.

What an Ohio child care study must prove

Capacity is the first limit, so the study should state the licensed enrollment the building may hold and then ask how many families around Franklin will actually fill those places. Teacher wages and turnover drive the cost line, and tuition has to cover them at a realistic first-year enrollment, not at a full waiting list. Because a 504 project finances the building, classroom conversion, play space, fencing and safety systems need a contractor's budget before the structure is sized against a typical $432,000 loan. Appraisers want to know who else might take over a purpose-built center, which is why the file needs a fallback use, and why it needs a month-by-month path to break-even.