Economic development is a cornerstone of Florida First Capital. Our mission is to strengthen the economic development of the state by providing financial assistance to small businesses in conjunction with the SBA and private sector lenders.

All of our projects contain an economic development component, and in general, projects must create or retain jobs based on SBA funding criteria. The FFCFC 504 Loan Program is used effectively by economic developers statewide because it helps fund projects that are not eligible for traditional economic development financing.

Advantages of Promoting the FFCFC 504 Loan Program:

• Economic developers can help borrowers obtain true, fixed-rate financing with low down payments (usually 10%). And, unlike conventional loans, 504 transactions include verifiable job creation and economic impact data, which is provided to economic developers.
• FFCFC 504 Loans can be used in a wide variety of projects, including commercial, franchises, health care, hospitality, manufacturing, retail and service.
• Many deals that cannot be financed conventionally or through industrial revenue bonds can be financed through the FFCFC 504 Loan Program. In fact, the 504 Program is attractive to all projects due to it below-market rates and low down payments.
• The owner can operate in 51% of a building and lease the other 49%, creating an income stream to strengthen cash flow.
• Banks are willing participants because they can fund as little as 50% of a project and still remain in a first-lien position.