2920 Spring Medical Center

But while browsing the university’s web site, Dayakar ran across the name of the executive director of the University of Houston Small Business Development Center Network and instead emailed him. That chance email inquiry led to the opening less than two years later of the 2920 Spring Medical Center, the second largest freestanding clinic in Texas.

When he received Dayakar’s email, SBDC executive director Mike Young referred him to the Houston Metropolitan Center where his case was assigned to consultant Orlando Saldana. At this point, Dayakar was working with a local bank that would approve an SBA 504 loan for the property purchase and facility construction, but only if Dayakar put more of his own money into the project. Orlando suggested that Dayakar prepare a detailed business plan to assess the project’s feasibility and determine whether the requested equity injection was reasonable.

Orlando also asked Mary Nemmers, the UH SBDC Network’s business librarian, to research the demographics for the proposed site. She looked at growth trends and the area’s competitive landscape. As Dayakar worked on his business plan, Orlando helped him incorporate Mary’s market analysis findings to demonstrate the viability of opening a clinic on the property he had chosen.

Orlando was then able to craft a 504 loan proposal that allowed Dayakar to inject less equity but still adequately fund the overall project. When the bank Dayakar had first approached declined the restructured deal, Orlando brought the project to United Central Bank, which responded quickly and approved the loan without any changes. The financing package, including Dayakar’s investment and the CDC’s participation, totaled over $3,000,000.

As the project progressed, Dayakar had another idea -- why not add a second floor to the clinic and lease out the additional space? Market research had shown the need for convenient access to medical professionals in the area. The idea was a good one, but now the bank wanted additional owner investment to finish the project. Construction stopped as Orlando worked with Dayakar and the bank to determine the amount. Happily, calculations showed that the increase in cash flow from leasing the second story space would cover the additional debt.

The two-story medical center opened in the fall of 2005 with 10 professional employees, anchored by Dayakar’s wife’s family clinic and his brother’s gastroenterology practice. By spring of 2007, all of the second floor offices were leased to specialists including a dentist, chiropractor and sleep clinician. While the space was being filled, the emergency room expansion was underway. Using the business plan Orlando helped develop, Dayakar was able to obtain additional new financing totaling over $4,500,000 to build out the facility and purchase the equipment.

The 2920 Spring Medical Center is now up and operational with 43 employees staffing both the clinic and the emergency room. The 24/7 ER provides CAT scan, nuclear imaging, ultrasound and x-ray services, and boasts an open MRI. The parking lot is always full, and Dayakar is now asking Orlando to help him expand to an adjacent site.