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Multiple SBA 504 Loans Help Lay the Foundation for a Rock Solid Small Business Expansion

Dec 2020

In 2004, Jim Glover and Pate Clements founded Cypress Gulf Development Corporation in Tampa and began building what would become a legacy of success.

Cypress Gulf – a full service site development company offering all facets of site work, land clearing, earthwork, underground utilities, base paving curb and environmental development – started out in a leased 7,700 square-foot building. Within 10 years, the business had outgrown the space and needed to expand to support the company’s burgeoning operations.

Working with a local community bank, Glover, Cypress Gulf President, learned of the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Loan Program and was introduced to Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (FFCFC) Business Development Officer, Scott Radway. It would pave the way to a perfect partnership.

With the help of an SBA 504 loan, Cypress Gulf purchased and renovated a 13,810 square-foot building. Additionally, the property included a 4.36 acre parcel of land that would allow the company to operate a crushing yard. The yard enabled Cypress Gulf to recycle materials and produce crushed concrete road base for use on company projects as well as for sale to other site development contractors. With a total project cost of $1.12 million, and 90% financing for 20 years, the SBA 504 loan was good business.

Within 5 years, Cypress Gulf had grown from 50 employees to 175. Again, they needed to expand and, again, they turned to Radway and FFCFC.

This time, Cypress Gulf set their sights on broadening operations to the Orlando area. A second SBA 504 loan assisted with the $1.26 million purchase and renovation of a leased property that included a nearly 7,000 square-foot facility built on 3.81 acres.

It would take only 3 years for Cypress Gulf’s second location to grow to 75 additional employees. And they weren’t done yet.

In early 2020, an opportunity emerged for Cypress Gulf to purchase a fully licensed limestone mine as a complementary component to their existing businesses. The $10 million project would not only enable the company to produce the materials needed for their projects, but also become a supplier to other developers.

The mine property, located in Pasco County, is nearly 95 acres with a mining footprint of just over 44 acres. The area surrounding the mining operation is used for pastureland.

For a third time, Cypress Gulf called on Radway and Florida First Capital. And, once again, a local community bank – Jim Nelson, Flagship Bank President – was the ideal lending partner.

“Small community banks, like Flagship, understand what this type of project can do for economic growth. And, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without Scott Radway and FFCFC,” said Glover, Lago Verde President.

Lago Verde Mine, considered a special use property, was the first mine financed through Florida First Capital. The SBA defines special use as a property that is “designed, equipped, and used for a particular type of business or operation and is not easily adaptable to some other use because of the peculiar nature of the improvements.”

“Cypress Gulf and Lago Verde Mine are an ideal example of a small business using the SBA 504 Loan Program to its fullest potential,” said Radway. “They understand the overall cost of capital to expand into more markets and complementary industry,” he continued.

In the past 16 years, Cypress Gulf has grown to over 250 employees and completed more than 450 projects. They now operate 4 recycled materials yards and have processed in excess of 2,500,000 tons of concrete debris that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

For Cypress Gulf and Lago Verde Mine, the SBA 504 Loan Program has helped create a rock solid business model.

Visit Cypress Gulf Development at cypressgulf.com and Lago Verde Mine at lagoverdemine.com.

The SBA 504 Loan Program provides up to 90% financing at below-market, fixed interest rates and long amortization terms up to 25 years for the purchase of major fixed assets, such as owner-occupied commercial real estate, renovations, new construction, energy efficient “green” initiatives and/or fixed heavy duty machinery and equipment, as well as the refinance of commercial mortgage and other business debt with or without a cash-out option.

504 loans are paired with private-sector commercial loans and provide up to $5 million of aggregate SBA eligibility on standard 504 projects; up to $5.5 million per 504 energy efficient green project not exceed $16.5 million in the aggregate; and up to $5.5 million per eligible small manufacturing project with no limit on total SBA dollars available. These are SBA 2nd mortgage loan portions only; there is no limit on overall project dollar size.

For more information about SBA 504 loans in Alabama, Florida or South Georgia, contact a Florida First Capital Loan Officer or email us at info@ffcfc.com. Phone: 850.681.3601 or toll-free at 800.504.LOAN.