SBA 7(a) Data Center Feasibility Study in Colorado

Data centers are not a large class in Colorado: 31 loans and $22.9 million over FY2017 to FY2026. What makes the cell worth reading is the breadth of its code: colocation buildings cannot be told from hosting services, and data processing firms sit in the same bucket. Most of these loans therefore probably finance small technology firms, not large server halls with heavy power demand, although the record cannot say. A $250,000 median is 1.25x the nationwide 7(a) figure for data centers; loans in the interquartile band run from $150,000 to $762,150. Franchising is 3.2% of loans.

Rank and places

In a nationwide count of loans, Colorado is seventh, though data centers rank 21 of 39 among the state's classes. Counties run Denver 10, El Paso 6, Arapahoe 5, Boulder 4, Douglas 3, then Jefferson, Montrose and Weld at 1. The list is concentrated along the Front Range, with Montrose the lone western county.

No lender table

Because the lender table is empty, no institution can be named and the holders remain unknown. Annual approvals were 2, 1 and 5 in FY2017 to FY2019, 2 in FY2020, and 2 in FY2021 at only $185,000. FY2022 to FY2024 had 5 each, FY2025 had 3 at $4.8 million, and FY2026 a single loan of $250,000. The swings in dollars are larger than in counts.

Silent cohorts

Colorado data centers have no cancellation or charge-off percentage, each cohort being too small to publish, and the gaps are not zeros.

What a Colorado data study has to establish

A study must first say what is being financed: a hosting business leasing space, a colocation building, or a small server room attached to an operating firm. It should test power capacity and cost, cooling, connectivity and fibre routes, redundancy, physical security and the customer contracts that support revenue. Demand is measured by signed or credible tenants and not by regional population. Equipment ages quickly, so the appraisal must separate the shell from specialised systems, and coverage should be tested with a major customer leaving. Where the loan buys a building, ask the appraiser what a user outside the data trade would pay.