MERIDEN - Access to major highways, Meriden's central location in the state and efforts by city officials helped the Community Economic Development Fund buy a key piece of real estate.

The organization paid $2.5 million Monday to buy the former home of Lane Construction Corp. at 965 E. Main St.

The economic development fund provides loans, counseling and other economic development assistance to small businesses and mixed-use projects.

The holding company is a nonprofit and therefore is not subject to taxes, but its other companies that will occupy space in the former construction headquarters will be subject to personal and real estate taxes.

"We're looking at moving in in May," said President and Chief Executive Officer Donna Wertenbach. "We looked at a couple of locations in the middle of the state, but all highways convene in Meriden."

The Community Economic Development Fund was based in West Hartford. It services small businesses and economic development projects throughout the state.

In 2007, the agency booked more than $4 million in new loans, did thousands of hours of business consulting, and did training and support for community economic development.

The loan pool is based on $2 million from the private sector and $2 million from the public sector.

Wertenbach praised the city's economic development staff members Peggy Brennan and Trudy Magnolia for their efforts to accommodate the agency. "I was very pleased and very impressed," Wertenbach said.

The agency was looking for a site along the I-91 corridor, because it was getting too costly to dispatch representatives throughout the state.

The 11,000-square-foot red brick building is visible from the Wilbur Cross Parkway.

The move allows the group to consolidate many of its functions in a single building, said commercial broker Frank Hird of OR&L Commercial, which represented Lane Construction.

The Community Economic Development Fund consists of three major legal structures:

- CEDF Foundation LLC serves as the parent and is responsible for the oversight of CEDF, providing support to encourage community-based economic development strategic planning; business counseling to small businesses and entrepreneurs, which increases their access financing to benefit their neighborhoods; and microloans -- $35,000 and under -- to small business borrowers.

- CEDF Corp., a wholly owned subsidy of the CEDF Foundation Inc., is a for-profit corporation responsible for administration of the investing, underwriting and lending functions.

The corporation manages all of the small business lending activities through a limited liability partnership.

- CEDF1 LLC is that partnership, working with Fleet, First Union, Chase Manhattan, People's Sovereign, Citizens, Webster and New Haven Savings banks, and has a $9.5 million loan pool.

Lane Construction, one of the largest infrastructure improvement companies in the East, moved to 90 Fieldstone Court in Cheshire last summer to accommodate its rapid expansion.

Magnolia began working with Wertenbach last fall and was impressed with her concern for her employees.

The agency has made a commitment of six loans for $172,873 in Wallingford, eight loans for $263,050 in Meriden and one loan for $27,541 in Southington.

"I'm really looking forward to them coming," Magnolia said. "I know it will be a three-way partnership. Also the workshops they do in other cities will now be done here at a central location."