SBA 504 Car Wash Feasibility Study in Florida

Florida leads the country in 504 car wash lending

No state has more SBA 504 car wash loans than Florida: it ranks 1 among states by count. Between FY2017 and FY2026 SBA approved 144 of them, worth $204.0 million in gross dollars, and car wash sits 6 of 39 among Florida's asset classes. Scale is what separates this cell from the class nationally: the median of $1.4 million is 1.28x the national 504 median, and the middle half runs from $861,000 to $1.9 million. In plain terms, Florida washes are built or bought at a larger scale than the national norm. Franchising is scarce at 6.9% of loans.

One development company dominates

Under 504, a bank loan is joined by a second loan packaged by a certified development company, which is why the table below names such companies. Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. holds 99 of the loans worth $147.3 million, well clear of Florida Business Development Corporation (29 loans, $35.8 million), while Sunshine State Economic Development Corporation closes the list at 10 loans and $10.9 million. SBA lists the current holder, so this is a record of who services the loans, and it should not be read as anyone's requirement. Lee County leads with 20 loans, followed by Pasco with 14, Orange with 11, Volusia with 9 and Hillsborough with 8.

Cancellation is the weak point

The cancellation floor is 18.2%, rising to a ceiling of 24.2% if undisbursed loans are treated as cancelled, which is high for any class. Charge-offs tell the opposite story: 0.00% so far among the 62 loans in the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort, and 0.00% within five years. That zero is itself a floor, because loans still open could yet fail, yet it is a measured figure and not a gap. Approvals peaked at 21 loans worth $33.3 million in FY2022 and were 9 in FY2025 worth $18.9 million, with 3 so far in FY2026.

Testing a Florida car wash

Because one industry code lumps stationary washes with truck and mobile operations, the data cannot say how many of these were tunnels or self-service bays; a study should say which format it proposes. Demand work should count vehicles on the frontage road, the share of nearby households with memberships to rival tunnels, and the effect of rain-day and tourist seasonality on throughput. Cost must reflect equipment, water reclamation and site work, with land and building separated for the appraisal. The debt payment must be shown covered under a ramp to stabilised volume and again under a new competitor opening within a short drive. With an 18.2% cancellation floor, the study should prove that zoning, permits and utility hookups are secured before anyone sizes the loan.