WBDC provides small business loans to biopharma, real estate, and horse companies
PHOTO COURTESY/SUSTAINABLE COMFORT INC.
A crew from Worcester home rehab firm Sustainable Comfort Inc. fixes up a rundown triple decker.
The Worcester Business Development Corp., a nonprofit working to support small business owners, has granted U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loans to three companies looking to expand throughout the Northeast.
Sustainable Comfort, a Worcester-based real estate and development firm, received a loan in September to fund a construction project in Syracuse, New York, according to a Friday press release from the WBDC. This is the second loan Sustainable Comfort has received from the WBDC, and both were financed in partnership with Leominster-based Fidelity Bank.
Lohxa, a Worcester-based pharmaceutical repackaging company, closed its second WBDC loan in May, using the funds to purchase new equipment for its primary operations in an effort to meet client demands. This loan was provided in partnership with Boston-based Berkshire Bank while Lohxa’s first loan through WBDC, funded in February 2023, was provided in partnership with Hudson-based Avidia Bank.
Elegante Performance Horses in New Hampshire received its SBA 504 loan in May, allowing the horse training company to purchase a 23-acre horse farm in Weare and transfer 25 horses previously located at different locations, according to a Friday press release from the WBDC. Because the WBDC is typically not authorized to administer SBA 504 loans outside of Massachusetts unless it had provided a 504 loan to the participating firm in the past, the transaction required permission from local New Hampshire Certified Development Cos. and the SBA’s district office.
WBDC declined to confirm the loan amounts.
SBA 504 loans are long-term, fixed-rate financing options for small businesses, aimed at bolstering business expansion and job creation, according to the SBA website. Loans are available up to a maximum amount of $5.5 million.
“The WBDC is committed to helping small businesses by providing below-market, long-term, fixed rate financing with the SBA 504 Loan Program. Our recent SBA-approved accredited lender status helps streamline the loan application process and provides expedited processing of our loan approvals,” Christina Escobar, WBDC director of SBA and lending, said in the release.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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