SBA 504 Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Texas

First among states, with large real estate loans

Texas is 1st among states for SBA 504 loans to fitness centers, with 78 loans and $120.0 million in gross dollars approved; gyms rank 7 of 39 among classes at home. Because 504 finances buildings, land and long-lived equipment, these are gyms that own or build their facility. Size is what makes the cell distinctive: a $1.2 million median runs 1.58x the national 504 figure, and the central loans range from $646,000 to $2.1 million. Franchised gyms account for 6.4% of loans.

Leading the table with 34 loans is Capital Certified Development Corporation. Behind it, Greater East Texas holds 12, LiftFund, Inc. 11 and North Texas 9. The page reproduces SBA's holder file, so the figures describe books, not judgments. Harris County leads with 11 loans, Fort Bend has 6, and Collin, Hays and Tarrant have 5 each, with Dallas, Denton and Montgomery at 4. Annual volume was 12 loans in each of FY2025 and FY2026, with $18.4 million and $20.2 million, against only 3 loans and $1.6 million in FY2021.

Cancellation, and no loss rate

Cancelled approvals reach a floor of 14.8% and a ceiling of 18.5%. No charge-off rate appears, since the funded cohort is below the size needed to publish one; the gap is not a zero. Cancellation is therefore the one outcome measure available for this cell, and the gap between the floor and the ceiling shows that some approvals were still open when SBA's file was cut.

What a Texas 504 fitness study must prove

With the building as collateral for a 504 loan, the real estate has to be tested alone: build or purchase cost against appraised value, and whether the space could be re-let as retail or recreation if the gym failed. The operating side is about members, so the study should show demand within a realistic drive of the site, rival clubs and boutique studios, price points and, above all, attrition. Larger facilities have higher fixed costs, which means a slower ramp, so coverage of both loan pieces has to be shown across a long pre-sale ramp and a lean case. It should also split the request between real estate and equipment, which age at different rates.