ABOUT

Chesapeake Business Finance Corp.

Chesapeake Business Finance Corp ("Chesapeake") is a private non-profit corporation licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") to make SBA 504 loans to businesses in Maryland, DC, southern Delaware, Northern Virginia, and eastern West Virginia.

Chesapeake recently celebrated a big anniversary - 20 years of service to small businesses and bankers in the Mid-Atlantic community - which included nearly 300 approved SBA 504 loans, $300 million of approved SBA financing, over $750 million of total financing for businesses - and over 5,000 jobs.

John Sower

John is the co-founder and President of Chesapeake Business Finance Corp. He has made hundreds of SBA 504 loans in the Mid-Atlantic area. Previously he was with the National Development Council where he managed staff who helped finance over $2 billion of business and development projects using private and government financing. He was a board member of the National Council for Urban Economic Development (now the International Economic Development Council) where he co-chaired the Small Business Finance Committee

He was the primary creator of SBA's 503-504 loan program and was the founder and first President of the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO). In 1993 he was elected to NADCO's "hall of fame" for his role in creating the 504 program.

He has a MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and a BA in Economics from Lawrence University in Wisconsin. He has previous commercial, mortgage and investment banking experience.

Tom Turner

Tom is a member of the business development team and has 14 years of experience marketing the 504 loan program and processing 504 loans in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and DC. He works with business owners, bankers, small business development centers, brokers and others on a wide variety of types of SBA 504 loans. He has 20 years previous experience as a small business owner and consultant, and he has both Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the University of Maryland.

"We have had six 504 loans from Chesapeake for our restaurants, and we are working on our 7^th. The 504 program has been terrific for us, and the Chesapeake people are good to work with.”

– Chris Reda: Ropewalk

"We have done four SBA 504 loans with Chesapeake. The average project of each loan has been over 10 to 14 million dollars. The 504 program has been vital to the growth of our business. These projects are complex, and the Chesapeake group is very knowledgeable and helpful. We are planning to do many more projects with them. During COVID-19 the best partner has been Chesapeake to come and help us with financial planning of the payments."

– Dhiren Patel: Holiday Inn

“We have done two large complex 504 loans with Chesapeake – and we are working on two more. The 504 program’s long-term fixed rate terms are really beneficial to us. Chesapeake has been excellent to work with in planning our projects and successfully negotiating through the 504 process.”

– E. Heyer: Sienna School

“Our new Hyatt Place Hotel in Ocean City, MD was a $26 million project. We had construction delays but the 504 loan program was important and is a key reason for our success. Chesapeake’s team knows the 504 program and they really helped us. Summer in Ocean City is fantastic – come visit!”

– Tommy Bennett: Hyatt Place

“We used the SBA 504 refinance program to get long-term fixed-rate financing for our business. We are growing rapidly and the 504 loan program helped our cash flow. Chesapeake helped us through the SBA 504 process.”

– Sung Bin Im: World Bankcard

“We are working on our third SBA 504 loan with Chesapeake. They have been very helpful to us and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

- Kim Briscoe-Tonic: Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Home

"504 is a great program. We sell and service luxury previously-owned cars. Tom Turner (of Chesapeake) helped me buy this place with a 504 loan 5 years ago. We're now working on a 504 refinance deal"

James Makia - Exclusive Motorcars

"Nelson Precast is a manufacturer of top quality cast stone and architectural precast concrete products for contractors in the Mid-Atlantic area.

The SBA 504 program has helped us finance this building, including our office buildout, plant setup including these overhead cranes, as well as some very sophisticated equipment. By its nature, it was a long and difficult process with construction, budget changes, and other delays, while also running a very busy company. But Chesapeake was there to help every step of the way"

Ari Lichtman - Nelson Precast Products