Accion Texas Inc. Breaks Ground on “One-Stop” Campus for Small Business Lending and Support

Accion Texas President and CEO Janie Barrera (wearing red, in center) is joined by board members, civic leaders and donors February 12 during the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Accion Texas Lending and Learning Center to be located at 2015 W. Martin Street on the West Side of San Antonio in the historic Prospect Hill neighborhood. The new center should open in 2015. (Photo: Business Wire)

SAN ANTONIO--()--Accion Texas Inc., a nationally respected nonprofit small business lender with the country’s largest microloan portfolio, broke ground today on a new multimillion-dollar campus on the city’s West Side.

The new Lending and Learning Center, to be located at 2015 W. Martin St., will consolidate the organization’s San Antonio operations, creating a “one-stop” location for small business lending, education, and support. It will also feature a small business incubator designed to help entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses throughout South Texas.

“This is an exciting time for us in our history. We are celebrating 20 years in San Antonio,” said Accion Texas President and CEO Janie Barrera. “Over the last three years we have gone through a tremendous growth spurt, expanding business beyond Texas and now lending in seven other states. San Antonio is home, and we are excited to be digging our roots even deeper right here on the West Side.”

Since its inception in 1994, Accion Texas has grown from one office in San Antonio to 21 offices in Texas and seven other states and has made more than 14,000 loans totaling nearly $160 million. In addition, more than 3,600 loans totaling nearly $40 million have been made in San Antonio alone. Accion Texas currently manages a portfolio of just over $30 million in active loans throughout its eight-state footprint.

The nonprofit is in the middle of a successful capital campaign and continues to raise funding for the campus project, which has been supported in part by generous donations by area banks, businesses, foundations and over 100 public and private contributions and pledges.

Designed by Lake|Flato Architects, the campus consists of four buildings: a 13,100-square-foot headquarters, a 1,897-square-foot business incubator, a 1,400 square foot community center and a 1,000–square-foot café which will be operated and managed by SA Youth, a local nonprofit focused on the development of urban youth. Contractor is Keller-Martin Construction.

Accion Texas is a nonprofit, multi-state microlending company and small business lender that helps new and existing entrepreneurs successfully grow their businesses. It manages the nation’s largest microloan portfolio. Accion Texas now operates in eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. For more information, visit www.acciontexas.org.

Contacts

Accion Texas Inc.
Ken Slavin, 210-531-5563
kslavin@acciontexas.org

Release Summary

Accion Texas Inc., the nation's largest nonprofit microlender, breaks ground on its new multimillion-dollar campus on San Antonio's West Side. Construction will begin this spring.

Contacts

Accion Texas Inc.
Ken Slavin, 210-531-5563
kslavin@acciontexas.org