“It is definitely a different lending environment than a year ago,” he said. “There is no question we have seen a tightening of the credit markets.”

The current climate would be tough for start-up companies in his line of work, although developers with a track record should have less difficulty and Miller said he did not anticipate problems in obtaining financing for future projects.

He also expressed optimism for the Main Street Place project. Between one-third and one-half of all the loft apartments have already been leased, he said, and there are already signs that Joplin’s downtown is undergoing a renaissance.

He also argued that Southwest Missouri has fared better than other parts of the country.

“We didn’t see the boom quite like California or the West Coast,” he said, noting that this area is being spared from the bust now gripping those areas.

Mark Williams is among local developers who have acquired about a half-dozen historical buildings in downtown Joplin and plan on investing a total of about $18 million in the projects.

Williams said some banks have been tightening up — asking for additional investors and more money down or doing loans on individual phases of projects as opposed to projects as a whole, but overall Williams also said that developers with good equity and good plans for projects can still get financing.

He further said that while some banks have tightened up, others have shown strong interest in financing projects. Williams said his bank — Great Southern — has been great to work with on his projects.

By the numbers

The Small Business Administration office in Springfield reported that in Jasper County a total of 60 SBA-backed loans totaling $12.9 million were approved during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The numbers for Newton County were 15 loans totaling $4 million. Those figures reflect an increase over the 2007 fiscal year, where Jasper County reported 59 loans approved totaling $12.4 million and Newton County posted 11 loans totaling $4 million.

But nationwide, lending through the SBA’s programs dropped significantly this last year. The SBA approved 69,434 business loans, down more than 30 percent from the previous year. The total dollar volume of those loans was $12.7 billion, down more than 11 percent.

Jim Krudwig, director of the Small Business Development Center at Missouri Southern State University, said banks are still willing to loan but are “a little more conservative.”

A business with good credit and a business plan can still obtain financing, although they might have to put 20 percent down on the project, he said. “It just depends on the bank and the loan officer.”

Other indicators about the Joplin economy are mixed.

Construction in the city from October 2007 through the end of September came to $84.78 million, compared to $112.64 million last year for the same 11-month period. The city’s fiscal year ends Oct. 31 and last year the city set a record with $128.1 million in construction.