Dogtopia spas and day cares are coming to San Marco and along Philips Highway as part of the proliferation of pet-centered businesses in Jacksonville and beyond.
Phoenix-based Dogtopia offers pet day care, spa grooming services and boarding among more than 50 locations in U.S. and Canada.
Franchisee owner-operator Jay Hooper said he intends to open his group’s first Dogtopia in the Avenues North Center at 9365 Philips Highway before the end of the year.
It also will be the area’s first Dogtopia.
Plans filed with the city show the almost 6,700-square-foot space will comprise three playrooms, a spa and grooming area, five suites and an outdoor play area, along with reception and breakroom areas.
No contractor is listed for the $200,000 remodeling project.
“The pet care industry is a $63 billion industry and growing, and one of the drivers is that it is really generational,” Hooper said.
He said millennials, generally defined as 17- to 37-year-olds, are holding off having children and instead treat their furry friends as family.
Hooper said his group was interested in a pet-care service in Jacksonville and was attracted by Dogtopia’s attention to detail and safety.
He said Dogtopia’s focus is all-day open play every day, with dogs separated by size and temperament.
“The intent is to go home tired. An exhausted dog has had a fun day,” Hooper said.
He said his group’s Dogtopia will offer boarding as a convenience, but that won’t be the primary focus, instead featuring the day care and grooming.
Hooper said his group will open multiple units but has not settled on future sites.
San Marco franchisee Addie Kasraeian said she and her husband, urologist Ali Kasraeian, expect to open a 3,960-square-foot Dogtopia at 1075 Hendricks Ave., with a courtyard in back, by late this year or early 2018.
She said they will redevelop the building next to Reddi-Arts.
It’s also about a block from their home at The Peninsula residential tower along Riverplace Boulevard.
Addie Kasraeian said her Dogtopia is a smaller model, but still will have an outdoor play area and three rooms for different sizes of dogs. She is not sure yet of the boarding capacity.
“We have a need in our neighborhood,” she said. A survey found 175 dogs living with their owners in The Peninsula, The Strand and San Marco Place towers, “and there is nowhere convenient to bring them.”
In addition, apartments are under construction nearby at the Broadstone River House and several other residential projects are planned in the neighborhood.
The Kasraeians own a Shih Tzu named Charlie Brown.
Kasraeian works full-time as corporate sales director for Bailey’s Health & Fitness.
The Kasraeians intend to hire a manager to run their Dogtopia, and “if all goes well, we will open more,” she said.
The two franchisee groups have geographic boundaries.
Kasraeian said she is in her 30s. Her friends are waiting later to have children, and for now are spending money on their “furry children.”
Not just millennials are doing that. She said baby boomers and empty nesters are pampering their pets, too.
“I have heard they are moving from the backyard to the bedroom,” she said.
The 15-year-old company says on its site that it offers live webcams for owners to watch their pets; a professionally designed spa; supervised playrooms with floors made from compressed rubber to reduce the impact on the dogs’ joints and feet; meals prepared by the owners’ direction; soundproofing; and enclosed boarding suites for owners who want more privacy for their pets during rest times.
Some facilities offer overnight stays.
The only Florida facility, in Tampa, offers dog day care for $30 for one visit, a half-day for $17 and pricing up to $24 a day for a 30-day pass and $425 for unlimited Monday-Friday use for a month.
Boarding ranges from $41 to $47 a night. There are discounts for “multidog families.” Spa and grooming services there range from $10 to $40.
Services include spa baths, brush-outs, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, nail trims and more.
Avenues North landlord representative Jason Ryals, executive vice president of Colliers International Northeast Florida, said the property ownership looks forward to adding Dogtopia to the tenant mix.
“It will bring good clients to the center,” he said.
David Hillegas, senior associate with Cushman & Wakefield, represented the franchisees in their leases.
The Washington Post reported in September that while young Americans are less likely to be homeowners, car owners or parents than their predecessors, they do lead in the category of pets.
The newspaper reported that three-fourths of Americans in their 30s have dogs and 51 percent have cats, according to a survey by research firm Mintel. That compares with 50 percent of the overall population with dogs and 35 percent with cats.
The Post said millennials, defined as the generation born between 1980 and 2000, are half as likely to be married or living with a partner than they were 50 years ago.
“They are also delaying parenthood and demanding flexible work arrangements — all of which, researchers say, has translated to higher rates of pet ownership,” said the report.
The Post said the implications are big for the for the $63 billion pet industry, it said, which has grown three-fold since 1996.
In 2015, Americans spent $11 billion on pet-pampering alone, it said.
A third of owners said they bought toys, 17 percent purchased pet costumes and 10 percent paid for pet strollers, according to the Mintel research firm.
The Post reported a 2014 study by Wakefield Research found that 76 percent of millennials said they are more likely to splurge on their pets than for themselves, including for expensive treats (44 percent) or a custom bed (38 percent).
By comparison, 50 percent of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, said they would do so, said Wakefield Research.
In Jacksonville, PetSmart will open a new store in Mandarin South Shopping Center and Pet Supermarket, with five stores open, plans at least four more in Duval County.
And more pet centers are expanding. Jacksonville-based Pet Paradise intends to build a prototype pet boarding, grooming and day-camp provider in the Bartram area.
The first floor comprises almost 14,850 square feet and includes 185 suites for dogs and a day-camp area. There also is a cattery. Outside are play areas with retractable shades and a pool.
Brian Franco, Pet Paradise vice president of real estate, said previously that Pet Paradise wanted to develop six to eight locations a year. The Bartram location will be the first newly built center since 2009.
In response to customers, the new designs include more shade structures, trees, covered porches and misting stations in the outside play yard; a redesigned lobby; a dog-bone-shaped pool and a splash area for small dogs; more interior VIP rooms for dogs that add special care such as plush beds, ice cream and a webcam so that owners can monitor their pets.
The Bartram location would be the fourth Pet Paradise in the area. Pet Paradise operates 27 locations throughout the Southern U.S. and three are underway.
