Construction · Arlington, TX
Construction Funding in Arlington, TX
Arlington charges commercial building permit fees on the declared valuation of the work, including the contractor's profit, and adds a non-refundable plan review fee of 35 percent of the permit fee when plans are submitted. The city does not treat a permit application as received until that plan review fee is paid. Work started without a permit draws a penalty equal to the permit fee, on top of the fee itself. The schedule took effect October 1, 2025, the city's first broad fee review since 2008. For an Arlington contractor, permit money goes out weeks before the first draw comes in.
Check business eligibilityFunding specialists, not a lender. No approval guarantee.
Updated October 30, 2026
Decision guide
Arlington contractors: plan review is paid before the permit counts
A good fit when
- A line of credit for permit fees and materials, repaid from the first draw.
- Equipment financing for trucks and tools, kept apart from job money.
- Factoring for commercial customers on long terms.
- Pricing permit and plan review fees into every bid.
Look elsewhere when
- Starting work before the permit to save time.
- Bids that leave out plan review fees.
- Daily debits taken while waiting on a draw.
- Offers that leave out the total repaid.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Building permit fee on the valuation | $4,419.50 |
| Plan review fee at 35%, paid at submittal | About $1,547 |
| Both fees together | About $5,966 |
| Interest on a $5,966 line draw for 45 days at 13% APR | About $96 |
Illustrative only, not an offer. Trade and fire permits are extra.
Registration
Recording a business registration with the Building Official costs $100 for one year or $175 for two.
Texas rules on advances
HB 700 requires providers of sales-based financing under $1 million to give disclosures and register with the OCCC; banks are exempt.
Official sources (checked October 20, 2026): City of Arlington: Planning and Development Services fee schedule (effective October 1, 2025, Resolution 25-258), City of Arlington: phased permit fee adjustments in 2025, Texas HB 700 (2025), enrolled text.
What a funding specialist adds. Nowbiz sizes contractor financing around permit fees and draw schedules and compares offers on total cost. The lender sets eligibility and terms.
Prepare
Documents that settle the decision
- Arlington business registration with the Building Official
- Signed contracts with their draw schedules
- Permit applications and fee receipts
- Receivables and retention aging
- Three to six months of business bank statements
Arlington, TX
The Arlington market for a construction business.
Arlington sits between Dallas and Fort Worth as the entertainment capital of North Texas, an event-driven city where two professional stadiums, a theme park, a water park, a General Motors assembly plant and a large public university generate demand for restaurants, hotels, transportation and services.
On the cost side, arlington is more affordable than Dallas or Fort Worth for retail and industrial space, and the Texas minimum wage tracks the federal rate, but hourly wages in hospitality and entertainment rise sharply on event days and during the summer park season. In practical terms for a construction business, the yard and shop are minor costs next to labor and materials, and the real squeeze is paying crews weekly while general contractors and owners pay in thirty to ninety days.
Seasonality matters too. Hot summers, mild winters and occasional ice storms frame the year, while the baseball season, the football schedule, the theme-park calendar and the UTA academic year drive an economy that swings sharply between event days and quiet weeks. a contractor should expect the underwriting to look at the trailing months, so a file submitted at the end of the slow season will look weaker than one submitted in mid-season, and should time equipment purchases before the busy months.
Demand for a construction business in Arlington traces back to its anchor employers and institutions: AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, the General Motors assembly plant, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Health Arlington Memorial and Medical City Arlington, and the Great Southwest industrial district. they are the source of the larger projects — hospital wings, campus buildings, public works and tenant improvements — whose progress-payment schedules and retainage define a subcontractor’s cash flow.
The commercial map runs through The entertainment district along Collins Street and Randol Mill Road, downtown around Center Street and the UTA campus, Cooper Street, Division Street, the Parks Mall and the Highlands on Interstate 20, and the Great Southwest industrial parks off Highway 360. Commercial and mixed-use activity along these streets generates the tenant-improvement and renovation work that keeps smaller contractors busy between larger projects.
Who actually pays a construction business in Arlington? Stadium and park visitors from across the region, students, automotive and manufacturing workers, hospital employees, and a large working-family residential base. For a contractor, the important distinction is who is paying: homeowners pay at completion, general contractors pay on progress schedules with retainage, and public agencies pay slowly but reliably.
How Arlington compares with nearby Texas markets
Arlington is not Texas in miniature, and a construction business weighing a second location or comparing notes with peers should read the neighboring markets on their own terms.
Frisco is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, a young, affluent suburb north of Plano built around professional sports headquarters and venues, new hospital campuses, expanding corporate offices along the Dallas North Tollway and a steady stream of new subdivisions and families.
Retail and office rents on the Tollway and at the Star are high and reflect the affluence of the surrounding neighborhoods, while the Texas minimum wage tracks the federal rate and a growing local labor pool keeps hiring possible in most trades. Hot summers, mild winters and winter ice storms shape the trades calendar, while the soccer, baseball and football seasons, youth tournaments, the school year and year-end home closings set the tempo for hospitality, fitness and family services.
Dallas is the corporate and financial center of North Texas, a city of headquarters, banks, law firms, wholesale trade at the Market Center and Design District, major hospital campuses and neighborhood dining districts that has grown steadily for decades on a business-friendly, low-tax footing.
Uptown and downtown office rents are high, but neighborhood retail and the industrial space along Interstate 35E remain reasonable for a metro this size, and the Texas minimum wage tracks the federal rate with no local floors, so labor pricing is set by a competitive market. Hot summers, mild winters and occasional ice storms shape the year, with the State Fair each fall, the Market Center’s trade shows and the holiday season producing the strongest deposits for hospitality and retail.
Set against both, Arlington is more affordable than Dallas or Fort Worth for retail and industrial space, and the Texas minimum wage tracks the federal rate, but hourly wages in hospitality and entertainment rise sharply on event days and during the summer park season.
| Market | Anchor employers and institutions | Customer base |
|---|---|---|
| Frisco, TX | The Star, home of the Dallas Cowboys headquarters, Toyota Stadium and FC Dallas, Riders Field and the RoughRiders, the PGA of America headquarters and Fields, Baylor Scott & White Frisco and Medical City Frisco, Stonebriar Centre, and the Frisco Independent School District. | Affluent young families, corporate employees along the Tollway, sports fans and tournament visitors, hospital staff, and residents of a city that adds new subdivisions every year. |
| Dallas, TX | UT Southwestern Medical Center, Parkland and Baylor University Medical Center, the downtown and Uptown corporate towers, the Dallas Market Center, Southern Methodist University, Dallas Love Field, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and the SBA’s Dallas/Fort Worth District Office. | Corporate and financial-services employees, hospital staff, wholesale buyers from across the region, a large and diverse residential base, and business-to-business trade throughout the metro. |
| Factor | Local detail |
|---|---|
| Anchor employers and institutions | AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, the General Motors assembly plant, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Health Arlington Memorial and Medical City Arlington, and the Great Southwest industrial district. |
| Commercial corridors | The entertainment district along Collins Street and Randol Mill Road, downtown around Center Street and the UTA campus, Cooper Street, Division Street, the Parks Mall and the Highlands on Interstate 20, and the Great Southwest industrial parks off Highway 360. |
| Cost pressure | Arlington is more affordable than Dallas or Fort Worth for retail and industrial space, and the Texas minimum wage tracks the federal rate, but hourly wages in hospitality and entertainment rise sharply on event days and during the summer park season. |
| Seasonality | Hot summers, mild winters and occasional ice storms frame the year, while the baseball season, the football schedule, the theme-park calendar and the UTA academic year drive an economy that swings sharply between event days and quiet weeks. |
| State disclosure rules | HB 700 (since September 2025): standardized disclosures and registration for sales-based financing such as advances under $1 million; other products not covered |
| State minimum wage | $7.25 an hour (the federal rate, adopted by reference) |
| SBA district offices | Dallas / Fort Worth: 150 Westpark Way, Suite 130, Euless, TX 76040; Houston: 8701 S. Gessner Dr. Suite #1200, Houston, TX 77074; San Antonio: 615 E. Houston St., Suite 298, San Antonio, TX 78205; El Paso: 211 N. Florence St., Suite 201, El Paso, TX 79901; Lower Rio Grande Valley: 2422 E. Tyler Ave., Suite E, Harlingen, TX 78550; West Texas: 1205 Texas Ave., Room 408, Lubbock, TX 79401 |
| Contractor licensing | Texas has no statewide general contractor license; electrical and HVAC work is licensed by TDLR, plumbing by the State Board of Plumbing Examiners, and cities issue permits |
Minimum wage, SBA office and disclosure details checked October 15, 2026 against official sources: U.S. Department of Labor: state minimum wage laws (updated July 1, 2026), SBA Dallas / Fort Worth District Office, SBA Houston District Office, SBA San Antonio District Office, SBA El Paso District Office, SBA Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office, SBA West Texas District Office. Local minimum wages can be higher; confirm current rules before relying on them.
- Texas commercial financing disclosuresTexas regulates commercial sales-based financing such as merchant cash advances (HB 700, in force since September 2025, with standardized disclosures and provider registration); for term loans, lines and factoring, ask every provider for the total repayment, an annualized cost, the term, the payment schedule and prepayment terms in writing.
- SBA and free counselling in TexasThe SBA serves Texas through six district offices — Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, the West Texas office in Lubbock and the Lower Rio Grande Valley office in Harlingen — each with lender-relations staff, SCORE chapters and Small Business Development Centers hosted by universities and community colleges across the state.
- Labour cost directionTexas’ statutory minimum wage tracks the federal rate and the state pre-empts local minimum wages, so labor pricing is set by the market rather than by ordinance; in the large metros the going rate for hourly staff sits well above the statutory floor, and the state has no personal income tax but levies a franchise (margin) tax on businesses above a revenue threshold.
Local numbers
Construction businesses in and around Arlington, in figures
The Census Bureau counted 3,940 construction business locations with paid employees in Tarrant County, which includes Arlington, in its 2023 County Business Patterns. That is 8.3% of the county's 47,656 employer locations, compared with 8.4% across Texas. 75% had fewer than 10 employees. They employed 58,225 people, with average annual payroll of $77,400 per employee.
In the SBA's 2026 fiscal year (October 2025 through September 2026), 102 lenders approved 413 SBA 7(a) loans totaling $288.9 million for businesses in Tarrant County, an average of $700,000 per loan. By number of loans, the most active were Newtek Bank, National Association (54 loans); The Huntington National Bank (35 loans) and Northeast Bank (26 loans). Certified development companies approved 21 SBA 504 loans totaling $32.8 million for real-estate and equipment projects there; the most active was Capital Certified Development Corporation.
How to use these numbers: they describe the local market, not your odds. SBA figures count only loans the SBA guarantees, and a construction business is approved on its own revenue, credit and cash flow. A lender that is already active in the county is a reasonable place to ask about SBA options before comparing faster, costlier products.
| Measure | Tarrant County |
|---|---|
| Construction business locations with employees (2023) | 3,940 |
| Share of all employer locations: county vs Texas | 8.3% vs 8.4% |
| Share with fewer than 10 employees | 75% |
| SBA 7(a) loans approved, FY2026 | 413 ($288.9 million) |
| Lenders making SBA 7(a) loans here, FY2026 | 102 |
| SBA 504 loans approved, FY2026 | 21 ($32.8 million) |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) Lender and 504 CDC Activity Reports, FY2026 (data as of September 30, 2026, by project county). County figures include the whole county, not only Arlington.
Construction essentials
What matters most for a construction business in Arlington.
The construction cycle is built on delay: mobilize, buy materials, meet weekly payroll, bill at month end, wait one to three months for payment, and accept that a slice of every invoice sits in retainage until completion. That structure means a growing construction business in Arlington can be profitable on paper and short of cash every Friday. The need is not a single purchase; it is the permanent gap between paying for the work and being paid for it.
The full Construction business loans guide covers the rest in depth: how each product fits, what lenders check, the documents that settle a decision, typical timelines and the mistakes that cost owners money.
- Lender viewReceivables from general contractors or public agencies make factoring efficient; equipment lenders like clear titles.
- Margins and cash patternLumpy cash flow: 30 – 90 day pay cycles and retainage
- SeasonalityWeather-driven in northern states; bidding season in winter
Products that fit
Three or four structures, not thirty.
Of the eight product types Now Biz Fund arranges, these four fit a construction business best. Figures are published market ranges compiled from lender and marketplace guidelines, not Now Biz Fund offers, and the notes explain the fit.
| Product | Pricing structure | Repayment | Time to fund | Amount to discuss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice factoring | Contracted invoice fee, fee period, reserve and any additional charges | Settled when the customer pays the invoice | Provider-dependent; confirm availability of funds | Provider-specific; size to repayment capacity |
| Equipment financing | Loan interest or lease payments; compare deposit, fees and ownership terms | Fixed monthly | Provider-dependent; confirm availability of funds | Provider-specific; size to repayment capacity |
| Business line of credit | Interest or installment fees by provider; check draw and maintenance charges | Interest or installment payments under the draw agreement | Provider-dependent; confirm availability of funds | Provider-specific; size to repayment capacity |
| Business term loan | Quoted interest and fees; compare net proceeds and total repayment | Fixed weekly or monthly payment | Provider-dependent; confirm availability of funds | Provider-specific; size to repayment capacity |
How each structure fits a construction business, with worked comparisons, is covered in the Construction business loans guide.
Worked example
What $117,000 looks like for a construction business.
To make the comparison tangible, the figures below apply published market ranges to a typical amount for a construction business in Arlington. Adjust the amount in the estimator; the comparison rows show the same amount under two alternative structures.
Payment estimator
Estimate a invoice factoring payment
Factoring cost on a $100,000 progress billing paid in 45 days, across the published fee range. The comparison rows show the same amount as a line draw and as equipment financing. Illustrative factoring fees on a $100,000 invoice outstanding for 45 days at published market rates; the table beneath shows alternatives at the same amount for an Arlington construction business. Factoring fees on a $100,000 progress billing outstanding for 45 days at published rates, with a line draw and equipment financing shown beneath at the same amount for an Arlington contractor.
$93,600 advanced against the invoice, $5,265 in fees and $18,135 in remaining reserve at collection (a negative reserve is an additional shortfall). The customer settles the invoice; this is not a borrower loan repayment.
Invoice face value, with an assumed 80% advance and 45-day collection. Fees accrue proportionally by day on the full invoice; other charges are excluded. This is a receivables sale, not a loan.
| Scenario | Estimated payment | Total payback / customer settlement | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower scenario input | $1,755 / invoice (fee) | $117,000 customer settlement; $115,245 net to business | 1.0% per 30 days; 45 days; 80% advance |
| Midpoint | $5,265 / invoice (fee) | $117,000 customer settlement; $111,735 net to business | 3.0% per 30 days; 45 days; 80% advance |
| Higher scenario input | $8,775 / invoice (fee) | $117,000 customer settlement; $108,225 net to business | 5.0% per 30 days; 45 days; 80% advance |
| Structure | Estimated payment | Schedule | Total payback / customer settlement | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business line of credit | $11,696 per month | 12 months | $140,348 | 35.0% assumed annual interest; 12 months; fees excluded |
| Equipment financing | $3,003 per month | 60 months | $180,177 | 18.5% assumed annual interest; 60 months; fees excluded |
Estimates use the midpoint of published market ranges and standard term assumptions; they are illustrations, not offers. Actual pricing, term and payment frequency are set by the funding partner after underwriting. Compare offers on total payback and payment fit, and in Texas ask for the same disclosures California and New York require.
Secure eligibility check
Fast Funding Review
Start a no-obligation review for your Arlington construction business: business basics, requested amount and intended use. No hard credit pull at this stage.
- No hard credit pull to apply
- Review and funding times vary by provider
- 5+ years in the industry
- Encrypted, private document handling
Prepare the file
Documents that help explain the request.
The list below is what a complete first file for a construction business looks like; extra items may be requested after review, always through the secure link rather than email.
- Recent business bank statements
- Signed contracts or current project schedule
- Accounts receivable and payable summaries
- Equipment or material estimates
- Signed contracts and the current project schedule
- Accounts-receivable and accounts-payable ageing
Construction questions
Before applying: what construction owners in Arlington want to know.
What is the best financing for a subcontractor waiting on progress payments?
Invoice factoring or a line of credit. Factoring advances approved billings within days regardless of the contractor’s credit; a line is cheaper for contractors with clean financials. Both scale with contract volume.
Can I factor invoices to a public agency in Texas?
Generally, and public agencies are considered good payers. Approval of the billing and compliance with the agency’s assignment rules are the requirements.
Is retainage financeable?
Factors leave retainage out because it is not yet due; it is normally bridged with a line of credit or planned for in the cash forecast.
General questions about credit checks, documents and how Now Biz Fund works are answered on the About page.
Now Biz Fund is a team of small-business funding specialists, not a lender. It organizes the request, matches it with vetted funding partners and returns offers for comparison; approval, pricing, speed and amount are decided by the funding partner’s underwriting. Nothing on this page is an offer or a guarantee. Questions before applying? Call +1 (929) 744-5992 or start the no-obligation review.