MERCER COUNTY Partnership forms to offer small-business loan services

The program offers money for land and building purchases, among other needs.
MERCER, Pa. -- Penn-Northwest Development Corp. and the Altoona Blair County Development Corp. have joined forces to provide Small Business Administration 504 loan processing services in Mercer County.
"Small businesses represent the largest employer base in the country, and the SBA 504 program has proved to be a vital financial component in launching new businesses and helping existing firms expand," said Larry Reichard, executive director of Penn-Northwest.
The SBA 504 program provides funding for land acquisition, building construction, building purchases, renovations, equipment, leasehold improvements and related project costs.
ABCD Corp. is a certified development corporation chartered by the SBA to administer the 504 loan program statewide.
"We are expanding our county partner base," said Martin J. Marasco, ABCD president and CEO. "Since our lending region was recently expanded statewide, we have outreached to our regional partners to offer our 504 lending experience and form new partnerships."
Ranked sixth
ABCD Corp. ranks sixth in the Western Pennsylvania District for total dollar amount of SBA loan activity.
"With more than $5.8 million in SBA loan approvals since the start of the federal fiscal year last October, we are seeing a large amount of eligible small businesses utilizing the SBA loan program options," said Barry Surma, director of finance and development programs for ABCD.
"Our total loan portfolio now totals $13 million, and we hope to grow that further by the end of the year," Surma said. ABCD now actively serves 21 counties in Pennsylvania.
Penn-Northwest will host a 504 Lender Training seminar in partnership with ABCD in June to introduce the program to Mercer County bankers and businesses.