SBA 7(a) Flex Space Feasibility Study in Illinois

Flex-space lessor borrowers under SBA 7(a) in Illinois

Illinois borrowers received 55 SBA 7(a) approvals for flex-space lessor during FY2017 to FY2026, a gross $56.8 million. State rank for flex-space lessor loan volume is 7, and within Illinois the class stands 19 of 39. The typical Illinois flex-space lessor ticket, $483,600, sits below the national median for flex-space lessor under SBA 7(a) (0.81x), and half of approvals land between $315,000 and $1.4 million. Franchise-flagged flex-space lessor loans make up 10.9% of the Illinois cell.

Lenders and counties in Illinois

Illinois flex-space lessor holders: Byline Bank, 13 loans, $20.9 million. The lender shown is the current holder of its loans as SBA reports them, so those loans sit with Byline Bank today. In Illinois, Cook has 23, DuPage has 4, Saint Clair has 4, Kane has 3 and Lake has 3 flex-space lessor loans.

The FY2017 to FY2026 flex-space lessor run

For Illinois flex-space lessor, year by year, FY2021 is busiest, with 13 loans and $13.5 million; FY2017 had 7, FY2024 had 1 and FY2026 had 0. In FY2025 and FY2026, Illinois saw no flex-space lessor approvals.

Illinois cancellations and charge-offs

In Illinois, at least 29.1% of FY2017 to FY2024 flex-space lessor approvals were cancelled once approved; counting undisbursed flex-space lessor loans as cancelled leaves it at 29.1%. The Illinois flex-space lessor loss record is likewise withheld: the Illinois charge-off cohort is under 30 loans, and printing a rate for so few is something Loan Analytics does not do, as its own rule. An absent rate says nothing good or bad about FY2017 to FY2021 loans.

Illinois flex space: what a study must test

A study for Illinois flex space should work from leasing evidence, not assumption: the vacancy and rents of comparable flex, office and light-industrial buildings, the tenant mix the loft or bay layouts will draw, and the time needed to lease up. Acquisition or construction cost belongs beside loans around $483,600, and debt service coverage must hold at stabilised occupancy and at a slower lease-up. The appraiser values an investor building on its net income, so tenant rollover and operating expense assumptions need documentation.

Illinois flex space and the break from FY2024

Flex space shares one industry code with office and retail lessors. Lessor businesses that SBA now sees as passive, which covers most of them, have been ineligible since FY2024, and the record for this class nearly stops from that year, leaving a single approval in FY2024 and none in the last two years. The thin recent run in Illinois therefore reflects that eligibility change, not a reading of tenant demand; rely on the earlier years.