SBA 7(a) Warehouse Feasibility Study in Florida

Fourth in the nation, 26th at home

Few states lend to warehouses as often as Florida, which holds rank 4 by loan count, though warehouse and distribution is only 26 of 39 among Florida's own classes, so the state lends a lot to warehouses without warehouses being a large part of what it lends. Thirty-six loans add to $42.7 million. Their midpoint of $522,900 stands at 1.49x the nation's, and the quartiles fall at $300,000 and $1.1 million. Franchised loans are 5.6%. Miami-Dade County alone holds 11 loans, then Saint Johns with 4 and Broward, Manatee and Palm Beach with 3 each.

Public warehousing only

The class covers public warehousing, firms that store and handle goods for others. An owner-occupied warehouse belonging to a manufacturer or retailer is coded to that firm's own industry, so those buildings are absent here, and the figures understate Florida industrial borrowing. A sponsor building a speculative or lease-to-users warehouse is closer to the real estate world than to this record. SBA lists no holder for warehousing in Florida, so no lender is named. Years ran from 1 loan in FY2017 to 6 in FY2021, with 5 in each of FY2023 and FY2025 and 3 so far in FY2026.

Rates left blank

Florida warehouses show two empty cells, unfunded approvals and charged-off loans, since both cohorts fell below the loan count SBA requires first. We supply neither, and the blanks are not evidence in any direction.

What a Florida warehouse study has to test

A warehouse feasibility study turns on tenants and logistics. It should identify the users the building is meant for, such as freight handlers, e-commerce fulfillment or storage firms, and show the vacancy and rents of comparable buildings in the county. Location relative to the port, the airport and the interstate should be measured in drive time, along with truck access, dock doors, clear height and yard space. Cost per square foot of the shell, the paving and the utility connections need a contractor basis. Florida adds flood zone, wind rating and insurance cost, which can move operating expense sharply. Coverage should be run with a vacancy case. With the midpoint near $522,900, many deals are acquisitions or small buildings, so the study must name exactly what is being bought. The appraisal rests on rent and comparable sales, and the study should reconcile its rents with both.