Certified Development Company · SBA 504
Brightbridge, Inc.
Chattanooga, TN · 272 504 loans since 2010, 46 in the last five years · active in 4 states.
What stands out about Brightbridge, Inc.
vs every other CDCA single-state CDC — 96% of its 504 loans are in Tennessee. It does bigger projects than most — a median $1.6M against about $1.1M for the typical CDC. It over-weights hotels (except casino hotels) and motels — 18% of its loans, about 3.5× the CDC norm. It over-weights general automotive repair — 12% of its loans, about 2.0× the CDC norm. It backs more startups than most (14% of its loans open a new business).
What they finance
last 5 yearsProject sizes
bank first + CDC secondA 504 project is roughly half bank first mortgage, 45% CDC second and the rest your own money. This is the financed portion, not the whole project.
Banks they work with
first mortgage partners| Bank | Deals together |
|---|---|
| CBBC Bank | 6 |
| Regions Bank | 3 |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 3 |
| SouthEast Bank | 2 |
| Legends Bank | 2 |
| SmartBank | 2 |
A 504 needs two lenders. The CDC arranges the SBA portion, a bank writes the first mortgage. If a CDC has done dozens of deals with a particular bank, that pairing works — which is worth knowing before you go hunting for a first mortgage on your own.
Their loans, year by year
cumulative % of CDC dollars charged off| Approved | Yr 1 | Yr 2 | Yr 3 | Yr 4 | Yr 5 | Yr 6 | Yr 7 | Yr 8 | Yr 9 | Yr 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| 2012 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2021 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
504 loans default a little less often than 7(a) overall — 5.0% of loans against 5.7%. But that edge is mostly a mix effect: 7(a) writes far more of the small loans that fail most, and counted at the same loan size 504 is not clearly safer. Numbers this small move sharply on a handful of loans, so read a single cell with care.
Is 504 right for you?
504 is for owner-occupied real estate and heavy equipment, and it fixes most of your rate for 25 years. The trade is two lenders, two closings and more paperwork than a 7(a).
Other CDCs to consider
Most CDCs lend across several states, so the nearest one is rarely your only option — and rates and service vary.