Imaging Center Feasibility Study in Florida

Florida imaging: second in the nation, first in cancellations

Florida ranks 2 of 42 states for diagnostic imaging center loans, and the cancellation floor is the metric that sets the cell apart. Imaging centers drew 55 SBA approvals worth $50.6 million over the FY2017 to FY2026 window. The location quotient is 2.31x, so imaging takes a far bigger share of Florida approvals than nationally, even though the class ranks only 25 of 39 inside the state. The $485,000 median is 1.39x the nationwide figure.

At least 24.4% of Florida imaging approvals through FY2024 ended in cancellation, with the ceiling the same. This is among the highest cancellation floors we see. Imaging centers depend on equipment purchases, physician referral commitments and payer contracts, and any of them can fall through between approval and closing. A lender should ask what a borrower still needs in hand at approval, and a sponsor should expect an approval to be conditional.

Program mix and lenders

Loans in the middle band cover $302,500 to $1.2 million, and 45 loans use 7(a) against 10 under 504, with franchising at 0.00%. Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. has 7 loans and $7.3 million, while Bank of America, National Association also has 7, at $2.7 million, suggesting smaller equipment-style deals.

Miami-Dade County has 14 loans, Broward 10, Palm Beach and Pinellas 8 each, and Saint Lucie 3. The southeast coast dominates. Counts were 9 in FY2019 and again in FY2025, but just 1 in FY2020, and the highest dollar year was FY2017 at $9.4 million on 4 loans. A charge-off rate is withheld since too few disbursed loans back it.

A Florida imaging study

A study has to prove referral demand: ordering physician volume, payer mix and the share of scans the center can win from hospital outpatient departments. Cost is dominated by equipment such as MRI and CT units, shielding and installation, and equipment can be obsolete before the loan is repaid. Coverage should use realistic scan volumes and reimbursement. The appraisal should separate equipment value from real estate and recognize that a lender recovers little if the referral base disappears.