SBA 7(a) Imaging Center Feasibility Study in Florida

Cancellation sets the cell apart

Florida diagnostic imaging centers are marked by the share of approvals that never close. Under SBA 7(a), at least 29.4% of the earlier approvals never funded, and the ceiling sits at that very figure. The file holds 45 approvals from FY2017 to FY2026 totaling $37.6 million, and the cancellation record is its defining fact, in a class dominated by expensive equipment and long permitting.

Size, standing and places

The median loan, $375,000, is 1.07x of the national median for imaging; half the loans fall between $288,700 and $940,200. Florida is 2 among states for loan count, though imaging centers hold only 25 of 39 among Florida asset types. No franchises appear, at 0.00%. Broward County has 10 loans, Palm Beach has 8, and Miami-Dade and Pinellas have 7 each, with Saint Lucie at 3.

Lender table and annual counts

Bank of America, National Association is the one holder named, with 7 loans and $2.7 million. Approvals ran 3 loans and $8.7 million in FY2017, the largest dollar year, then skipped FY2020 entirely, and returned to 7 each in FY2024 and FY2025.

The study behind an imaging loan

An imaging center's revenue is a function of referrals, payer contracts and the modalities installed, so the study should name the scanners proposed, the volume each can perform, and the reimbursement per study assumed. Competing hospital outpatient departments and radiology groups in the catchment must be counted. Equipment is the largest cost, so the schedule should cover installation, shielding, the service contracts and a replacement reserve. A radiologist's coverage, technologist staffing and accreditation take time, and the forecast should include that delay. The high cancellation floor tells a reader that financing assumptions can unravel: a study should therefore state its sources for equipment pricing and the timeline for licensing. The payment must remain covered when volume ramps slowly, with a reserve for equipment downtime and for the months before referral contracts are in place, and the appraisal depends on income from the medical use of the space, not on the building alone. The charge-off rate is unprinted, since too few early loans funded to measure it, and carries no signal either way.