Question 1

Is there enough owner-occupied business demand in Ellis County to support an SBA purchase?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it runs on two different local economies, not one. Ellis County grew from a 2020 census count of 192,455 to roughly 240,900 in 2025, about 25% in five years, which is the kind of growth that needs new professional offices and service space to lease or own. Midlothian carries the county's genuine heavy-industrial base: three cement plants, Ash Grove, Holcim and the former TXI plant now run by Martin Marietta, plus a Gerdau steel mill. That is a real base of contractors, fabricators and suppliers who are natural owner-occupied 504 borrowers, not a suburban office story. Employment counts for the plant cluster come from secondary reporting only, so we do not publish a headcount; confirm a specific employer's payroll yourself before using it in underwriting.

Question 2

How do Waxahachie's development fees affect an SBA 504 ground-up or expansion project?

Accepted Answer

They land at the front of your draw, not spread across it. Waxahachie charges roadway impact fees at building permit issuance and water and wastewater impact fees at water meter issuance, both ahead of a certificate of occupancy. On top of that, the city's fee schedule adds a site plan review fee of $500, a zoning district change of $500 plus $10 per acre, and a plat fee of $500 plus $10 per lot, plus an uncapped $2,500 consultant review deposit at plat submission that is trued up to actual cost at final plat approval. Budget that stack into your project cost before you set your SBA loan amount, since none of it is financed by the loan itself.

Question 3

If I want to buy an existing building in downtown Waxahachie, does the historic overlay change my SBA project?

Accepted Answer

It can add a review step before your permit issues, on top of the SBA's own occupancy test. Waxahachie's Downtown Historic Overlay and Oldham Avenue Historic Overlay both require a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Heritage Preservation Commission before a building permit issues for any alteration, restoration or new construction, so a storefront renovation inside either district clears that commission review ahead of the permit. Separately, SBA rules require you to occupy at least 51% of an existing building's square footage as of the date of the loan (13 CFR 120.131); the occupancy test and the historic review are two different requirements, and both have to clear. Outside the two overlay districts, standard permitting applies.

Question 4

What SBA district office covers an Ellis County business, and does that matter?

Accepted Answer

Ellis County falls under the SBA Dallas/Fort Worth District Office's North Texas territory, though that has not been separately verified county by county. The district office covers a large multi-county footprint rather than issuing loans directly, since SBA loans are made by partner lenders and only guaranteed by the SBA. What matters more day to day is which lender in our network already knows Ellis County's fee schedule, tax stack and historic-overlay rules, since that local familiarity moves a 504 or 7(a) file faster than the district boundary does.

Question 5

Does it matter which Ellis County city my SBA property sits in for property taxes?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the stack can differ by nearly half a point of assessed value from one city to the next. Combined county, city and school district rates for 2025 range from 1.7066 per $100 in Maypearl up to 2.1699 in Ennis, with Waxahachie itself at 2.0521 and Midlothian at 1.9948. On a $500,000 owner-occupied building, that spread between Maypearl and Ennis works out to about $2,317 a year in tax (500,000 / 100 x 0.4633 = 2,316.50). Pull the specific parcel's rate, since a mailing address in one city does not guarantee that city's tax jurisdiction here, and talk to your CPA about how that fits your occupancy cost.

Question 6

Could a PID or MUD assessment add to the cost of a new-build SBA 504 project in Ellis County?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if your lot sits inside one of the county's more than twenty improvement districts. The Ellis County Tax Office's PID sheet lists districts such as the Waxahachie PID No. 1 phases, North Grove PID and several Ferris and Ennis PIDs with an "N/A" in the rate column, which means the cost is a per-lot assessment rather than an ad valorem rate, and it is still an annual bill on that parcel. Other overlays, like a MUD, carry a stated rate that can run as high as 1.00 per $100 on top of the regular county, city and school stack. Confirm with the Ellis County Appraisal District whether your specific lot carries one of these overlays before you finalize a 504 project budget.

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