Aquascape Partners with SomerCor on 504 Refi to Meet Long Term Goals

Aquascape, Inc. sets the industry standard for residential and commercial water features. The company specializes in the product design and manufacturing of pond, waterfall and other decorative water-feature products with an ecosystem approach that connects people to water the way nature intended. The business also provides an international network of Certified Aquascape Contractors for water feature design, installation, and maintenance.

Company History

In 1991, armed with a love of turtles and a strong work ethic, CEO and Owner, Greg Wittstock, launched Aquascape with a small team and a pickup truck. The company experienced massive growth – eventually making the Inc. 500 List of Fastest Growing Companies and Crain’s Chicago Business List of Chicago’s Largest Privately Held Companies. Wittstock and other Aquascape team members also starred in Nat Geo Wild’s “Pond Stars” series. You can see highlights from their latest installations on TEAM Aquascape, their popular YouTube channel, which has over 100,000 subscribers! Most recently, the TEAM completed a massive water feature installation project at the home of former NBA superstar, Shaquille O’Neal.

SBA 504 Refi with SomerCor

To achieve this success, Wittstock and the Aquascape team overcame many challenges, including the Great Recession and the collapse of the roof at their headquarters. But the company persevered, and in 2016, set themselves up in a stronger financial position by taking advantage of the SBA 504 Debt Refinance Program. SomerCor partnered with Aquascape to restructure the existing debt on their North American corporate headquarters, dubbed Aqualand. The 15-acre site includes a 207,785SF building with a corporate atrium, retail store, and warehouse space.

“The SBA 504 Refi was the ideal long-term structure to help us achieve the goals we have for Aquascape,” said Wittstock. “SomerCor worked to understand our business and financing needs and provided a competitive financing solution. The loan process was efficient and straight forward and we closed in a timely manner. We look forward to being a part of the SomerCor Family for many years.”

For borrowers, key benefits of the refi program include lower monthly mortgage payments and loan payment predictability. In the case of Aquascape, with a total project size of $12,100,000, the SBA 504 Refi meant an annual savings of $540,000! This improved cashed flow positioned the company to better address unforeseen challenges, including COVID-19.

Aquascape is Open for Business

The Aquascape Construction Water Gardening Store and Inspiration Center is open and following social distancing procedures. They are also accepting product orders via phone at 630.659.2070 and will make arrangements for curbside pick-up or delivery.