What happens when your rent keeps increasing and the cost of doing business becomes too high?
If you’re Van Scoy Jewelers Owner Caroline Hill, you become your own landlord.
Hill’s rent payments were about to significantly increase at the Broadcasting Square Shopping Center location she had occupied in Wyomissing, PA for 20 years. She decided to move, and the decision came just in time.
“We were able to attain our SBA 504 loan to finance the purchase and renovation of our own building in January 2020. Then COVID-19 hit,” Hill says. “We experienced renovation delays, but we were able to focus on moving forward during a time when other businesses felt paralyzed by the COVID-19 shutdowns.”
The new property just had its official grand opening on 1121 Penn Avenue in Wyomissing, with Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance President & CEO Jim Gerlach among those attending.
Seedcopa was also proud to attend with partner lender Riverview Bank, which financed the $850,000 total project using an SBA 504 loan with record-low interest rates.
“With interest rates well below 3 percent and 25-year repayment options, it just made sense to take control of our destiny and own our own building,” says Hill.
Van Scoy Jewelers’ 3,300 square foot building is located three miles from its former location, transformed from an office building to a beautifully renovated, sleek and welcoming space with plenty of parking. Van Scoy occupies most of the building, with the ability to rent out the lower level and take advantage of another income stream.
Seedcopa Relationship Manager Marie Shires says, “Caroline had the perfect opportunity to become her own landlord and establish a new a home for her small business, while turning her rent payments into mortgage payments. We were thrilled to help Caroline create wealth for herself along the way.”
