Car Wash Feasibility Study in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area

Orlando: car wash loans far above the national norm

Over FY2017 to FY2026, SBA approved 44 car wash loans in Orlando, worth $87.2 million in all. The class holds 13 of 39 among Orlando's asset classes, and Orlando stands 16 of 458 nationally for car wash loans. Orlando gives car wash a bit more lending weight than the country does, at 1.35x on the location quotient. Orange County, FL carries most of the loans, with Seminole County, FL next. Project counties: Orange County, FL 25 and Seminole County, FL 9.

At the median, a Orlando loan is $1.9 million; the quartile band is $993,250 to $2.6 million. Orlando reads 2.07x of the national car wash median, so tickets here run bigger. The median loan is the distinctive measure of this cell, and it points to new tunnel builds more than small conversions. Orlando borrowers used 7(a) for 21 loans and 504 for 23. The franchise share for Orlando is withheld.

Two 504 holders named

Only 504 holders are named: Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. leads in both count and dollars. Among 504 holders: Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. (16 loans, $32.5 million) and Florida Business Development Corporation (7 loans, $15.0 million). For Orlando, these lines record loans held, with no judgment of lenders.

Cancellation floor for Orlando: 15.2% of approvals from FY2017 through FY2024. The stricter Orlando ceiling is suppressed. The charge-off rate for Orlando is withheld, so losses stay unmeasured here. FY2020 brought 5 loans worth $10.7 million, FY2023 brought 6 loans worth $16.4 million, and FY2024 brought 9 loans worth $18.7 million appear in the yearly record. In Orlando, thin counts hide the missing years. Washes for cars and for trucks, mobile operators among them, fall under a single code and appear together. Orlando figures cover only placeable counties, and unplaced projects go missing.

Questions for a Orlando car wash study

A tunnel wash earns on volume and memberships, so the study should convert passing traffic into stops, price a membership plan against single washes, and test how sticky subscribers are once opening promotions end. Water, chemicals and power are the cost lines to price carefully, and reclaim systems and tunnel equipment drive the build budget, which here is large. Frequent rain can interrupt the pattern of use, so the plan should assume wet and cooler stretches. Competing washes with unlimited plans set the price ceiling. A valuation separates land and the tunnel from the operating business, and special-purpose use limits resale, so environmental review belongs in the file.