Worked Example: SBA 504 Gas Station Feasibility Study in Illinois
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Illinois, financed with an SBA 504 loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the Springfield, IL Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Springfield, IL Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Springfield, IL at a glance
Springfield, IL drew 409 SBA approvals across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $162.3 million gross. Its loan-count rank is 190 of 928; Springfield, IL is one of those areas. Half the Springfield, IL loans are $175,900 or smaller. Springfield, IL sees its middle half between $60,300 and $355,000. Against the national median, Springfield, IL comes to 0.85x. Program mix for Springfield, IL: 350 7(a), 59 504. 9.0% of the loans in Springfield, IL carry a franchise brand. Those 409 Springfield, IL loans carry $162.3 million.
Springfield, IL: where the loans land
Full-service restaurant (32) tops Springfield, IL; beauty salon (17) and limited-service restaurant (15) follow. Fourth in Springfield, IL is fitness center, with 12 loans. The Springfield, IL record also holds 275 loans in no tracked class. SBA assigns Springfield, IL loans mostly to Sangamon County, IL (394) and Menard County, IL (15).
Springfield, IL: the lender side
In Springfield, IL, SBA names the holder each loan has today. Springfield, IL 7(a) holders include United Community Bank (IL) with 37 loans ($7.3 million), Morton Community Bank with 32 loans ($9.5 million), and Heartland Bank and Trust Company with 30 loans ($13.6 million). Among Springfield, IL 504 holders: Small Business Growth Corporation (45 loans, $15.2 million) and SomerCor 504, Inc. (14 loans, $10.9 million). For a Springfield, IL borrower, the rows are context only. Springfield, IL rows promise no one a loan.
Springfield, IL: cancellations and charge-offs
Springfield, IL cancellation, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals: 10.0%. It is a floor for Springfield, IL. Springfield, IL withholds a ceiling: Springfield, IL loans are too few. Charged off to date in Springfield, IL: 3.6%, a floor, across 197 disbursed loans of FY2017 to FY2021. Springfield, IL withholds a five-year rate: Springfield, IL loans are too few. A lender reading Springfield, IL takes both rates as the least. Springfield, IL history only grows. Springfield, IL is built from county names. Springfield, IL follows the July 2023 delineation. Springfield, IL omits loans with no county match. Springfield, IL totals count loans outside the tracked classes.
Springfield, IL: the feasibility questions
Springfield, IL approvals were thinnest in FY2023 (30 loans, $9.5 million) and heaviest in FY2017 (48 loans, $17.6 million). The latest year, FY2026, shows 40 loans and $22.1 million for Springfield, IL. A Springfield, IL feasibility study tests demand first, from Sangamon County, IL outward, not from the area average. The Springfield, IL median is $175,900. Set Springfield, IL budgets beside it; nationally it is 0.85x. Debt service in Springfield, IL is tested downside first. Springfield, IL lenders read the floors above. Springfield, IL value is tested against cost by appraisal. Springfield, IL comparables decide how. Sources and uses in Springfield, IL must tie to bids near Sangamon County, IL. The Springfield, IL study states its limits beside Sangamon County, IL findings.
SBA loans in the Springfield, IL Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 409 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $162.3 million |
| Median loan | $175,900 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $60,300 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $355,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 350 |
| SBA 504 loans | 59 |
| Franchise share of loans | 9.0% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 190 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.85x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.0% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 3.6% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 197 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Springfield, IL Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 48 | $17.6 million |
| FY2018 | 45 | $21.0 million |
| FY2019 | 36 | $12.0 million |
| FY2020 | 47 | $18.4 million |
| FY2021 | 43 | $14.9 million |
| FY2022 | 35 | $15.1 million |
| FY2023 | 30 | $9.5 million |
| FY2024 | 37 | $16.7 million |
| FY2025 | 48 | $14.9 million |
| FY2026 | 40 | $22.1 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 275 |
| Full-service restaurant | 32 |
| Beauty salon | 17 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 15 |
| Fitness center | 12 |
| Child care center | 11 |
| Hotel and motel | 6 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 6 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Growth Corporation | 45 | $15.2 million |
| SomerCor 504, Inc. | 14 | $10.9 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of Springfield | 102 | $18.3 million |
| United Community Bank (IL) | 37 | $7.3 million |
| Morton Community Bank | 32 | $9.5 million |
| Heartland Bank and Trust Company | 30 | $13.6 million |
| INB, National Association | 29 | $5.6 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Sangamon County, IL | 394 |
| Menard County, IL | 15 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-44100.
Related feasibility study pages
- Feasibility study data and consultants for Illinois
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- SBA feasibility study company
- Feasibility Study Data for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Rockford, IL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Peoria, IL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Champaign-Urbana, IL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Bloomington, IL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Decatur, IL Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Ottawa, IL Micro Area
Feasibility study data by asset class in the Springfield, IL Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Springfield, IL Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
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