SBA 504 Car Wash Feasibility Study in Arizona

One development company and a 2024 surge

Arizona car washes under 504 sit almost entirely with one company: 18 of the 26 loans, carrying $26.3 million of the $35.5 million total, are held by The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation on SBA's present-holder list. The calendar explains why. FY2024 brought 10 loans worth $8.8 million and FY2025 brought 7 worth $11.6 million, after years of 0 to 3 loans, so most of the record is recent and little of it has had time to season. FY2017 and FY2023 show none, at $0.

Size and ranking

The midpoint of $1.1 million matches the national 504 car wash figure exactly, 1.00x, and the quartiles are $547,250 and $1.6 million. Arizona ranks 10 by loan count among states, and car wash is 8 of 39 at home. Franchised loans are 7.7%. Maricopa County has 12 loans, Navajo, Pima and Yavapai 3 each, Yuma 2 and Gila 1, so Maricopa County dominates but is not alone.

Mixed washes and missing rates

Cars, trucks and mobile units share a code, so some Arizona loans may belong to operators who wash large vehicles or drive to the customer. Two rates are blank for the state, cancellations and charge-offs, as the cohorts are too small for Loan Analytics to print a rate (its cutoff is 30 loans). With most of the approvals dated FY2024 and later, a floor would in any case say little.

What an Arizona car wash study has to test

Under 504 the loan buys land and a building, so the study begins with the site: traffic count, visibility, the turning movements into the lot, and zoning that permits a tunnel. Then the market: the vehicles per day on the road, the competing washes and their prices, and the membership plans in use. State the format, tunnel length and throughput per hour, and build revenue from single washes and monthly members separately. Utility connections, drainage and city permits are major cost and timing items. Because most approvals are recent, lease-up of the membership base is the central risk; show a slow ramp. The appraisal must say what the site brings if the wash closes.