Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area

Gyms in South Florida: three counties, one weak share

Broward County, FL (86 loans), Miami-Dade County, FL (84) and Palm Beach County, FL (77) carry all 247 fitness center approvals in this cell, worth $121.8 million. The market ranks 12 of 608 nationally for the class and fitness centers rank 5 of 39 locally, but a location quotient of 0.71x says gyms are a lighter share of South Florida lending than of the national mix. A lender here may have fewer gym comparables than a lender in a gym-heavy metro, so the study carries more of the proof and should say plainly what it assumes about attendance in each of the three counties.

The median is $312,000, 1.20x the national class median, with $122,250 at the low end and $582,000 at the high end of the central half. SBA 7(a) accounts for 231 loans; SBA 504 has 16. Franchised units are 49.0%, nearly even with independents. Losses are high: among 84 loans funded in the FY2017-FY2021 window, 16.7% have been written off and 6.0% went bad within five years of approval, both floors. Cancellation for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals opens at 11.6%, and SBA gives no ceiling for this cell.

Who holds the loans

The Huntington National Bank leads SBA 7(a) with 39 loans and $10.8 million; Wells Fargo Bank National Association has 11, while TD Bank, National Association has 21, Stearns Bank National Association 15 and Newtek Bank, National Association 15. For SBA 504, Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. shows 7 loans and $11.1 million, behind the 9 loans and $13.5 million at Florida Business Development Corporation. These names come from SBA's holder records, and a borrower should treat them as history, not as a statement of what any bank wants.

From 21 loans in FY2017 the count slid to 11 by FY2021, then climbed to 38 loans and $15.9 million in FY2023 and held near 30 or above through FY2026, when the file shows 30 loans and $22.0 million. Membership in the area depends on project county placement in the 2023 delineation, which leaves unplaced loans out.

Testing a Miami-area gym

A study here should test whether member demand near each county's dense districts survives rival chains, and whether tourists or residents carry the revenue. Equipment and floor build-out have to fit a $312,000 median, while retention, dues and the lease must carry debt service through the loss pattern above. The Miami study is ours; Daniel Smith, MAI, signs his name, so treat the 247 approvals as background and nothing more.