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Seeing our clients achieve key milestones is what drives our work at BCL of Texas. From startups that have expanded to multi-employee businesses to families buying their first homes, our success all comes down to you.
One of our early customers, BCL worked with Rudy Ruiz of Community Development Management, Inc. for an SBA 504 loan to help them grow their operations. Founded in 1979, Community Development Management is a consulting firm that works with communities across Central and South Texas for community development projects like public works, housing, disaster relief, parks and recreation, and economic development.
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Guy Lahav and Gary Franco left their established lives and careers in Los Angeles to move to Gonzales, Texas with a dream of opening a dance studio to foster the love of arts and dance in small-town Texas.
With the help of BCL of Texas’ small business lending services, Guy and Gary were able to secure a building in downtown Gonzales, and Come and Take It Dance was born.
Donald has been working in the fuel department at the City of Dallas for 8 years, and this is the first time he’s seen a benefit like the Community Loan Center of Dallas offered through his employer.
“This is a great program that’s very beneficial for those who use it,” Donald says. “It was easy to use online and the money came right on time.”
Brandon Ward’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and a willingness to take risks. After a successful career as a schoolteacher and school principal, Ward decided to pursue his dream of becoming a construction entrepreneur.
When Philip DeLeon was approached by his partner Richard Barnhart about opening up Dix Diesel Center in Luling, Texas, to provide diesel engine repair for the central and east Texas area, he was excited about the new venture…but the property needed some sprucing up before they could really get underway.
Ruth and Arnold Guerra were born and raised in Gonzales, Texas, where they have opened hotels, restaurants, and built homes to meet their community’s needs. “We started with nothing,” Ruth said. Now, they have built over 100 homes in their community of 7,000 people.
I visited the Guerras and we drove around the town, as Ruth pointed out both homes she and her husband had worked on, as well as other neighborhoods of older homes in states of disrepair. Gonzales has not had new home construction in a long time. “Big builders are not going to come into this town,” Ruth said. In a previous subdivision, a builder constructed about 5 homes and then left town, the work unfinished. We drove past a 17-home affordable subdivision of 3-bedroom homes the Guerras built in 2009.
Now, they are building Angel Oaks, a 6-home development for median income families, featuring 3-bedroom ranch-style homes with yards. A longtime customer of BCL, having worked with us in the past for an SBA 504 loan, the Guerra family is now working with BCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Texas Community Builders for our new pre-development loan product.
The demand for median-priced new housing in Gonzales is apparent, as five of the Angel Oaks homes have already been purchased, just as groundbreaking has barely begun. Most of the buyers are people of color, and all are first-time homeowners. “People are getting out of renting and into their first homes,” Ruth said.
And as with their hotels, their construction business is a family venture. They’ve taught their two daughters skills in construction, management, and project administration. “In the big city, you get a job and you learn one thing,” Ruth said. She said her daughters are now prepared with a wide range of skills to take on all kinds of jobs.
“I’m really glad that Texas Community Builders is investing in small developers,” Ruth said. “I appreciate that they saw that we have projects that will benefit individuals that probably never would have been able to buy a home. Without Texas Community Builders, we would not have been able to do this project.”
Therapists and co-owners Debbie Mabray and John Leach used the SBA 504 Loan product to expand their business from a small location in Killeen to a beautiful new facility on a large acreage on the edge of town. The new location is highly appreciated by clients and employees alike.
BCL is known for our small business lending programs, but did you know we also work with partners like city and local governments to help them reach small businesses for grants like covid-19 relief packages? Since the start of the pandemic, we have distributed over $11.5 million in grant relief funding to over 300 businesses.
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