Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Assisted Living Feasibility Study in Utah
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for an assisted living project in Utah, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the St. George, UT Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the St. George, UT Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
A one-county market with an active 504 programme
St. George is Washington County, UT alone, 964 loans and $541.1 million for FY2017 to FY2026, ranking 99 of 928. Loan sizes sit modestly above the national level, with a median of $248,500 at 1.19x and a middle band from $75,000 to $662,500. Franchise brands account for 11.3% of loans. The programme split is 734 loans under 7(a) and 230 under 504, with one institution, Mountain West Small Business Finance, holding 178 of the 504 loans worth $160.2 million.
A total of 747 loans lie outside the tracked classes. Full-service restaurant tops the table at 37 loans; coffee shop and snack bar and hotel and motel are level at 23, then come limited-service restaurant with 20 and fitness center with 17. RV park and campground shows 9 loans. School has 6 and assisted living 5. Washington County's 964 loans all sit inside one county line, so there is no spread across jurisdictions for a study to borrow from.
Holders named by SBA
The names that follow are SBA's holder records and reveal where loans sit, not how lenders decide. For 7(a), Zions Bancorporation, National Association holds 140 loans worth $31.5 million and State Bank of Southern Utah 131 worth $26.9 million; Mountain America FCU holds 96, and Cache Valley Bank 55. Intermountain Business Lending, Inc. has 40 of the 504 loans, valued at $47.1 million.
Cancellations touched 8.0% or more of approvals through FY2024, and 9.4% when undisbursed loans are counted. Of 386 funded loans, 1.8% show a charge-off, a floor. Too few loans stand behind the five-year rate for Loan Analytics to print it, so nothing is offered in its place and the rate should never be read as nil. Annual approvals ranged from 55 loans in FY2019 to a peak of 144 loans in FY2025, worth $78.9 million.
What the study must examine
A study for a St. George project has to establish local demand, test whether the use duplicates the supply already financed, and show that debt service coverage holds even at the charge-off floor that is visible here. Cost and the appraisal come next, with attention to how 504 structure shapes the capital stack. Counties follow the 2023 delineation. Loan Analytics writes for lenders and borrowers and implies no approval.
SBA loans in the St. George, UT Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 964 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $541.1 million |
| Median loan | $248,500 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $75,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $662,500 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 734 |
| SBA 504 loans | 230 |
| Franchise share of loans | 11.3% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 99 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.19x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 8.0% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 9.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 1.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 386 |
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 St. George, UT Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 89 | $36.1 million |
| FY2018 | 72 | $41.1 million |
| FY2019 | 55 | $20.6 million |
| FY2020 | 92 | $40.9 million |
| FY2021 | 106 | $66.3 million |
| FY2022 | 100 | $74.6 million |
| FY2023 | 88 | $68.0 million |
| FY2024 | 111 | $45.4 million |
| FY2025 | 144 | $78.9 million |
| FY2026 | 107 | $69.2 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 747 |
| Full-service restaurant | 37 |
| Hotel and motel | 23 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 23 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 20 |
| Fitness center | 17 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 12 |
| Dental office | 11 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 11 |
| RV park and campground | 9 |
| Beauty salon | 9 |
| Self storage | 8 |
| School (elementary and secondary, including charter) | 6 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 5 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 5 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain West Small Business Finance | 178 | $160.2 million |
| Intermountain Business Lending, Inc. | 40 | $47.1 million |
| B:Side Capital | 6 | $4.3 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Zions Bancorporation, National Association | 140 | $31.5 million |
| State Bank of Southern Utah | 131 | $26.9 million |
| Mountain America FCU | 96 | $28.8 million |
| Cache Valley Bank | 55 | $15.1 million |
| Community Banks of Colorado, A Division of NBH Bank | 31 | $27.2 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 |
|---|---|
| Washington County, UT | 964 |
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-41100.
Related feasibility study pages
- Utah feasibility studies for SBA and USDA loans
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
- Feasibility Study Data for the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Ogden, UT Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Logan, UT-ID Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Heber, UT Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Cedar City, UT Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Brigham City, UT-ID Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Vernal, UT Micro Area
Feasibility study data by asset class in the St. George, UT Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the St. George, UT 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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