Specialty Loans
The Business Finance Division's specialty loan program provides supportive finance solutions in defined categories to help grow your business.
Click on the links below for detailed information about these specialty loans and how they can assist you and your company.
Contractor Loan Guaranty
Brownfields Cleanup Loan
St. Louis County Recycling Loan
Enterprise Center Revolving Loan
Oftentimes, small contractors encounter difficulty in obtaining bank loans to finance working capital for construction, manufacturing or service contracts due to a number of factors such as the project size or the contracting company is inexperienced and/or undercapitalized. St. Louis County Economic Council does not lend under this program. It provides the guaranty for up to 90 percent of the bank loan, with the guaranty not to exceed $50,000 and a minimum guaranty of $5,000.
The Contractor Loan Guaranty enables contractors to finance the estimated cost of labor and material needed to perform a construction, manufacturing or service contract.
Eligibility Requirements
- Business or business owner(s) must live in St. Louis County
- Business must have realized annual gross revenues of not more than $3 million, average over last two years
- Business must be minority owned and operated and/or disadvantaged
- Business has obtained an executed contract
Use of Loan Funds
- Direct expenses of immediate construction and/or rehabilitation of residential or commercial structures
- Cost of materials, equipment and labor in fulfilling a manufacturing or service contract
- Supplying goods and/or materials to St. Louis County government under a competitive bid process
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund
The Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund may be used for environmental cleanup to provide gap financing in redevelopment projects or in connection with pre-development activities such as site assembly preparation and infrastructure needs.
Eligibility Requirements
- All loan fund proceeds must be used in St. Louis County
Business Benefits
- Financing ranges from $10,000 to $75,000
- Funding flexibility for your growing company
St. Louis County Recycling Loan
The St. Louis County Recycling Loan provides low interest loans to encourage the development and use of materials recovered from solid waste in manufacturing operations and other businesses.
Eligibility Requirements
- Individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations must currently operate or will operate in St. Louis County as a result of the project
- Project must occur in St. Louis County
- Project must be based on a technology, which has been demonstrated beyond the research stage, technically feasible for full-scale operation and comply with all applicable environmental, safety and legal requirements
- Project must result in the final processing or conversion of recovered materials into industrial feedstock or the manufacturer of products from those feedstock
Use of Loan Funds
- Working capital
- Machinery and equipment
- Conversion costs of existing equipment to use recovered materials in the manufacturing process
- Reasonable related costs associated with the two aforementioned fund uses (equipment design or installation, etc.)
Business Benefits
- Loan amounts from $25,000 to $150,000, however, if legitimate need is presented for a greater loan amount, SLCEC reserves the right to increase the limit
- Loan funds may be used with, and in some instances subordinated to, other loan funds (such as a bank)
- Generally, the interest rate will not exceed the prime rate and may be significantly lower depending on the project's contribution to the loan's objectives
- Loan term, typically five to 10 years, commiserating with the type of assets being financed
Eligible Materials
- Most materials currently accepted at sanitary or construction/demolition landfills are eligible for consideration. Recovered materials include post-consumer materials, industrial scrap materials and overstock and obsolete inventories, which would normally go to a landfill.
Ineligible Materials
- Recovered metals; white goods; materials and byproducts generated from, and re-used within, an original process (such as mill broke); and materials disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill or materials considered to be hazardous (lead, acids, solvents, etc.)
Enterprise Center Revolving Loan
The Enterprise Center Revolving Loan provides short-term loans (one to five years) to St. Louis Enterprise Center client companies to finance a variety of items and needs such as inventory and working capital.
Eligibility Requirements
- Business must be a client company at one of the four St. Louis Enterprise Centers, and the personal residence of the majority owners must be located in St. Louis County.
- Business must be unable to secure financing from a bank or the SBA. Note: The loan may be called by St. Louis County Economic Council if the business leaves St. Louis Enterprise Centers.
Use of Loan Funds
- Working capital
- Inventory
- Machinery and equipment (new or used)
- Accounts receivables
