Jacob May Designs Overcomes “Existential Threat,” Buys Property it Was Leasing

Woodworking began as a hobby for Dave Ball, whose full-time career was in environmental remediation, but after taking an apprenticeship as a woodworker, he decided to enter the field on a full-time basis. In 2013, he moved back to the Bay Area and rented a small space in a cabinet shop to start his business, Jacob May Design. Once the business started taking off, he moved to the current location, which had been a woodworking studio for more than 30 years.

But last year, the business faced an “existential threat” when the property Ball was leasing was put up for sale. That’s when he got motivated to buy it himself.

Capital Access Group helped Ball secure a $2.05M SBA 504 loan to purchase the 13,000-sf property located in Oakland’s Lower Bottoms neighborhood.

“Oakland is changing fast, and industrial space is disappearing, so I’m confident this was a good investment,” said Ball. “The main selling point was the ability to put less down, and then the rate turned out to be near an all-time low!”

“If anyone has the opportunity to acquire the property that they operate out of, I recommend making that leap, and the SBA 504 loan is a great way to go,” he said.

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