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Certified Development Company · SBA 504

Growth Capital Corp.

Cleveland, OH · 474 504 loans since 2010, 60 in the last five years · active in 2 states.

Loans, last 5 yrs
60
Typical project
$1.7M
total cost, estimated
Typical CDC loan
$648k
the SBA second
Typical term
25 yr
Default rate
1.09%
all 504 0.84%

What they finance

last 5 years
Car Washes
5%
All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
3%
Child Care Services
3%
Landscaping Services
3%
Limited-Service Restaurants
3%
Everything else
82%

Project sizes

bank first + CDC second
Under $500k
12%
$500k – $1M
28%
$1M – $2.5M
25%
$2.5M – $5M
22%
Over $5M
13%

A 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
KeyBank National Association12
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association5
First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Lakewood5
Consumers National Bank4
The Croghan Colonial Bank4
Buckeye Community Bank3

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
ApprovedYr 1Yr 2Yr 3Yr 4Yr 5Yr 6Yr 7Yr 8Yr 9Yr 10
20100.00.00.00.00.00.00.40.40.40.4
20110.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20120.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.4
20130.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.5
20140.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20150.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0
20160.00.00.00.00.00.09.59.59.5·
20170.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0··
20180.00.00.00.00.00.00.0···
20190.00.00.00.00.00.0····
20200.00.00.00.00.0·····
20210.00.00.00.0······
20220.00.00.0·······
0%
12%+▨ too recent to know

504 loans default far less often than 7(a) — across the whole programme, 0.84% of dollars against 2.11% for 7(a). Real estate collateral is the reason. Numbers this small move sharply on a handful of loans, so read a single cell with care.

Source SBA 504 FOIAReleased 2026-06-30 Loans judged 307 States OH (59), PA (1)

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).

Compare the two on your numbers → How the programme works →

Other CDCs to consider

Alloy Development Co., Inc.Community Capital Development CorporatOhio Statewide Development CorporationCascade Capital CorporationFlorida Business Development CorporatiBusiness Finance CapitalFlorida First Capital Finance CorporatMountain West Small Business Finance

Most CDCs lend across several states, so the nearest one is rarely your only option — and rates and service vary.