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Business Development Loan Program

Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a non-profit cooperative corporation which provides electrical service through cooperatives and municipalities (“Member Distributors”) in Alabama and northwest Florida. AEC’s Board of Trustees and its Marketing & Industrial Development Committee developed and approved this Business Development Loan Program (“Program”) to provide loans to AEC’s Member Distributors who in turn participate with local communities and funding sources to finance the construction of speculative industrial buildings and facilities by qualified Applicants and enhance opportunities for economic growth. Program guidelines are as follows:

Program funds shall be used for: 
The construction of new “shell” buildings and the development of related infrastructure in accordance with AEC’s specifications for the attraction of new businesses engaged in the manufacture and/or distribution of products and services.

Terms and conditions: 
AEC will provide specifications and guidelines for use by Member Distributors when advising and evaluating Applicants and projects.

For qualifying projects, AEC will make interest-free loans to the requesting Member Distributor for the lesser of $300,000.00 or 50% of the Applicant’s total project cost.
The requesting Member Distributor will loan the funds obtained from AEC through this Program plus its own matching funds for the lesser of $300,000.00 or 25% of the total project cost to the Applicant on an interest-free basis.

The requesting Member Distributor will be limited to one application per year and is encouraged to limit program participation to one unsold property at any given time.
The remainder of the total project cost should be obtained by the Applicant from local sources, independent financial institutions, governmental entities, and/or otherwise self-funded.

Funding through this Program will not be made available to private developers.
All Program funds become immediately due and payable when the subject project/property is sold, leased or otherwise occupied.

AEC may defer repayment of its loan to the Member Distributor until the subject project/property is sold, leased or otherwise occupied or four (4) years from execution of the loan, whichever occurs first.

In no event shall the repayment term of AEC’s loan to the Member Distributor exceed four (4) years irrespective of any deferment of payments.

Each Applicant will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and such terms and conditions developed as circumstances warrant and which are not otherwise in violation of the Program Guidelines.

If you have any questions about any speculative buildings in an area served by GCEC, please contact Michael White at 850-265-3631, ext. 3006 to learn more about the program.

Note: Only financially strong businesses will be evaluated for this program.