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

Diagnostic imaging in South Florida: number one nationally

Among 100 metro and micro areas with diagnostic imaging loans, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area holds 1 of 100, the top place. A 3.54x location quotient shows imaging carries far more weight in this area's loan book than in the nation's, though the class itself sits 20 of 39 locally, so it is not the largest class in South Florida. The median loan, $647,000, is 1.85x the nationwide median. In all, 32 approvals from FY2017 to FY2026 total $30.7 million.

Sizes, counties and franchising

The middle half of loans spans $350,000 to $1.2 million, and franchising is absent (0.00%). Miami-Dade County has 14 loans, Broward County 10 and Palm Beach County 8. SBA's data gives Bank of America, National Association 5 loans worth $1.9 million, a custody record. FY2017 is the only year that prints (no approvals, $0); other years and the program counts are hidden because they are small. Since this is a class with so few loans, a reader should treat each yearly figure as noisy.

Gaps in the picture

Floors for cancellation and charge-off are not printed: South Florida supplies a smaller early disbursement group than Loan Analytics requires for this class. The reader should not take the blank as a good record. The area is built from three counties, and the loan counts fit within them.

Questions an imaging study must answer

The central test is referral volume. An imaging center depends on physicians sending patients, so the study should identify the referral base the site can reach, the payers and their reimbursement for each modality, and whether the center's equipment list matches what those physicians order. Equipment is the dominant cost: magnetic resonance, computed tomography and the shielded rooms they require can dwarf the tenant improvement budget, and a $647,000 median suggests that many projects here are lighter. Staffing with licensed technologists and a radiologist reading arrangement must be priced. Lenders look for coverage of the payment on a conservative ramp, and the appraisal depends on whether the value sits in a business with referrals or in specialized equipment that ages quickly.