If you walk up Main Street in Jacksonville’s Springfield neighborhood, you’ll see quite a few new businesses.
Elias Hionides is vice president of Petra, a real estate broker that’s investing in Springfield’s budding Main Street corridor. The latest additions are two clothing boutiques: former Murray Hill shop Ysyntricity and Best Dressed Dame, a new concept from the owner of the former Grease Rags Clothing in San Marco.
Ysyntricity opened at 1416 W. 8th St. on Oct. 15. Petra renovated the 1,700-square-foot space, encouraging the boutique to relocate from its previous location on Edgewood Avenue.
For Best Dressed Dame, Petra leased a 750-square-foot space at 1229 N. Main St. as the the specialty clothing store’s new home. A second boutique, The Quirky Crypt, will also be occupying a portion of the building.
Hionides talked about the changes to Springfield Friday on WJCT’s First Coast Connect, which was broadcast live from Springfield to celebrate this weekend’s annual PorchFest.
“I think the growth now is more organic than in the past,” he said. “You’re seeing owner-operators coming in, purchasing buildings, opening their stores, putting roots down in the community, buying homes in addition to opening their businesses. So that’s been a really big boon to the neighborhood.”
The new businesses aren’t Petra’s first venture on Springfield’s Main Street. The company brokered a landlord-tenant “improvement package” to bring Hyperion Brewing Company to its 1740 N. Main St. location in 2017.
Hear the interview with Hionides, along with the rest of Friday's First Coast Connect, here.
