Main Line Gymnastics expands with help from lender, Seedcopa

WEST GOSHEN — When Chelsea and Nick DiBeradinis first opened Main Line Gymnastics in 2015 they knew pretty quickly they would need to expand.

Main Line Gymnastics initially leased about 7,000 square feet on East Union Street in West Chester.

“We were outgrowing that space fairly quickly, and we were on a month to month lease,” Nick DiBeradinis said in a recent interview. “So, it was imperative to find a new space.”

“In the gymnastics business 7,000 square feet is considered a small gym,” Chelsea DiBeradinis added. “The equipment takes up a lot of space. We knew that eventually we would need in-ground block pits —foam block pits, to allow for higher level training. We knew expansion would always come. We had a lot of kids on our wait list so we really started to look into it.”

Nick DiBeradinis said the couple began looking for new space in 2018. That search turned into a property purchase and the construction of a new 16,000-square-foot facility just 1.5 miles from their original location.

Working with their banker and Seedcopa, a leader in U.S. Small Business Administration lending, the couple was able to obtain an SBA 504 loan package to finance the purchase of the property and construction.

The new facility at 305 Westtown Road in West Goshen opened on Sept. 12, 2022. The facility now has nearly 800 students, up from about 500.

“We have all the equipment we need and business is booming. We still have wait lists,” Chelsea DiBeradinis said.

The new building features a front class area for parent and tot open play, as well as beginner’s classes with viewing rooms for parents. The rear studio is the training area for higher level athletes and includes a 20- by 22-foot foam block pit, in-ground tumbling area and more stations and equipment.

Main Line Gymnastics employs about 15, and continues looking for additional employees.

The expansion

When the couple was ready to expand, Nick DiBeradinis reached out to a college friend who worked in commercial real estate and had him begin to look for warehouse space. But, he said, space for the size the couple needed for the expansion was limited and expensive.

Then they found an undeveloped plot of land with a for sale sign on it. Or rather “the property found us,” Chelsea DiBeradinis said.

“It was honestly 30 seconds down the road, and we passed it every time we went to our gym. We just kept looking at it,” she said.

Nick DiBeradinis had his realtor reach out to the listing agent to get the project rolling.

Once the couple had estimates on the building construction and the development of the land, the lender — WSFS — brought Seedcopa into the project. The organization helps small businesses obtain SBA 504 loans at below-market, fixed-interest rates.

Sherwood Robbins, managing director for Seedcopa, said he got involved in the project early on, first introduced by the commercial realtor and WSFS Bank.

Nick DiBeradinis said a conventional loan wasn’t an option for them, and the lender suggested the SBA 504 loan, with the bank financing 50%, the SBA financing another 40% and the DiBeradinis adding the final 10%.

“A lot of our projects are commercial lender driven,” Robbins said. “We work with them, and if they have a borrower that would benefit from less money out of pocket or a longer term loan, they’ll call us in to talk about the SBA 504.”

He added that for the DiBeradinis, the length of the loan is 25 years and the interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan. The full financial commitment for Main Line Gymnastics’ expansion was not disclosed.

The project was in the planning stages before COVID-19, and once the pandemic struck, Nick DiBeradinis said they put the project on hold for six months “to make sure we came through on the other side in good shape before we signed.”

“We came out, we were still doing well, so we decided to pick the process back up,” he said.

The SBA 504 was approved in late 2020 and the project moved ahead.

A lifelong dream

Chelsea DiBeradinis, a West Chester native and a graduate of West Chester University, has been a gymnast since she was 3 years old. She started competing when she was about 5, and said it quickly became a passion.

DiBeradinis said when she was 12 she knew she really couldn’t fathom life without it, and from then on, planned to become a coach and gym owner.

She met Nick DiBeradinis at CrossFit, where the two were CrossFit competitors. Originally from Downingtown, Nick DiBeradinis is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

His background is business/finance, so Chelsea DiBeradinis said she began planting the seed with him for the business.

“There is no way I could have done this without him,” she said, adding that in addition to handling the business side of Main Line Gymnastics she has also taught Nick everything about spotting gymnasts.

“We made a good team right from the start,” she added.

Seedcopa

Seedcopa is an economic development lender serving 70 counties in Pennsylvania and Delaware, partnering with economic development entities and bank partners throughout the region. Robbins said the organization works on projects ranging from $300,000 to $17 million.

This year marks Seedcopa’s 40th year working with businesses.

“We’re proud of this great history and we want to keep serving borrowers like Nick and Chelsea,” Robbins added.

For info about Main Line Gymnastics, visit https://www.mainlinegymnastics.com/.

For info about Seedcopa visit https://seedcopa.com/.