SBA 504 Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Indiana

Indiana fitness centers are eighth of 39 among the state's 504 classes, and the state is 13th on loans counted. Together the 25 loans are $21.2 million; a $657,000 median equals 0.84x the nationwide 504 mark for gyms, and the middle half is $332,000 to $1.2 million. A fifth of loans, 20.0%, are franchised, which tells a lender that brand gyms and independent owners both appear. Two development companies hold the whole lender table, which gives this cell its regional character.

Two companies

Regional Development Company has 8 loans worth $5.5 million, and, right behind it, Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation has 7 worth $9.0 million. The statewide company's loans are therefore the bigger ones. These are SBA's notes-held counts and are not a grade. Hamilton and Lake counties each have 5 loans, and Allen, Elkhart, Porter and Tippecanoe have 2, with Jasper, La Porte, Marion and Monroe 1.

Years

Opening years were uneven: 3 loans in FY2017, a lone $630,000 loan in FY2018, 4 loans in FY2019 and 2 loans worth $2.1 million in FY2020. FY2021 and FY2022 each had 3, FY2023 4 loans and $4.9 million, FY2024 one loan of $396,000, and FY2025 4 loans and $5.5 million. FY2026 shows none. The latest year is empty, and a lender should treat the series as intermittent.

Rates withheld

Indiana's gym cohorts are short of loans, so the cancellation and charge-off percentages stay unprinted. The blank is not a zero.

What an Indiana gym study must prove

The study must define the format, whether a big-box club, a boutique studio or a franchise unit, and test membership from households within a short drive. It should consider price points, churn after the first year, the share of income from classes and personal training, and competing clubs. Equipment and fit-out are large costs, and the lease or ownership of the building matters. As the property is part of the loan, ask what a user outside fitness would pay for the building. A gym that leaves behind a large, column-free floor can be hard to re-let, and the study should say so plainly. Run coverage with membership far below the plan.