Region's first SBA 504 loan closes

Tectonics Design Group in Reno has closed the first Small Business Administration loan under a federal stimulus plan to increase commercial lending.

The loan to the company was funded by Plumas Bank and Nevada State Development Corp.

Tectonics, owned by Jeffrey Turnipseed, Barrett Donovan, and Matt Rasmussen, borrowed through the SBA's 504 loan program, which is available for purchases of real estate, machinery and equipment.

The federal economic stimulus package reduced origination fees for the SBA 504 program by nearly 2 percent of the loan amount. The current rate on the 20-year, fixed-rate loan program is 5.2 percent.

The loan closed with 45 days after Tectonics applied.

"With just 10 percent down, that leaves more money in play for companies to use as operating funds," says Brian Wallace, business development officer at Nevada State Develop-ment Corp.

Tectonics, founded in 2006, is a civil and industrial engineering and design company.

It will buy an office building to house the firm at 10451 Double R Blvd. at South Meadows.

"It seemed like a good time to start building equity," says Turnipseed, company president. But the revised loan parameters also played a role.

"It sweetened the deal and gave us confidence," he says. "And it allows us to keep some cash reserves in place to ride out these rough times."