Question 1

Is there a CDC that specializes in Lubbock, or do we have to work with an out-of-state 504 lender?

Accepted Answer

Capital CDC, which reports being number one by 504 loan count in its five-state region, cites district-level leadership in Lubbock. That is the CDC's own published claim rather than an SBA statistic, and we have no local 7(a) or 504 volume figures for Lubbock to put next to it. We place 504 financing through relationships across our CDC network, so your file doesn't have to start from zero with a lender who has never closed a Lubbock deal. Terms and eligibility are still set by the CDC and SBA underwriting, not by us.

Question 2

We're building new instead of buying an existing building. What does that cost in city fees in Lubbock?

Accepted Answer

Lubbock set all roadway impact fees to $0.00 for every area of the city, effective September 8, 2025, and a new commercial building permit runs $0.20 per square foot. That's a real, checkable advantage against metros where impact fees alone run five figures per project. Keep in mind new construction carries a different SBA occupancy rule than an existing building: you need to occupy 60% at closing versus 51% for existing space, and only 20% of the project can be permanently leased to a tenant, with the rest on an absorption plan.

Question 3

Does it matter which Lubbock-area school district our building sits in, for property tax purposes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The total property tax rate on a Lubbock County parcel runs about 1.77% inside Lubbock ISD versus about 2.06% in Frenship ISD or 2.07% in Lubbock-Cooper ISD. Business property gets no homestead exemption, so the roughly 30-cents-per-$100 ISD gap lands in full on your bill: about $625 a year of difference on $215,000 of assessed value. Worth checking before you commit to a site, especially in the Frenship growth corridor, where bond debt keeps the ISD rate higher.

Question 4

We're a medical practice looking to buy our own clinic building. Is Lubbock a good market for that?

Accepted Answer

Lubbock is a regional healthcare hub, serving a population the local economic development office puts near 2 million across West Texas and eastern New Mexico, anchored by UMC Health System and Covenant Health. That's the demand base behind medical office and clinic real estate here, though we don't have Lubbock-specific vacancy or rent data to point to. On the loan side, if you're buying an existing building you need to occupy at least 51% of it yourself; ground-up construction requires 60% at closing with only 20% permanently leasable.

Question 5

We process cotton or dairy locally. Does manufacturer status get us a bigger loan?

Accepted Answer

If your business qualifies as a small manufacturer under SBA rules, the 504 project cap rises to $5.5 million instead of the standard $5 million, and the annual CDC fee is waived. Lubbock's economy includes named manufacturing and ag-processing employers like Leprino Foods' mozzarella plant, in a region the local economic development alliance calls one of the largest contiguous cotton-growing areas in the world, though we don't have local counts of qualifying manufacturers to point to. Whether your operation qualifies is a NAICS 31-33 classification question we'll work through with you.

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