The Mall at UTC celebrates 10 years

A typical Friday night at the Mall at UTC in the early fall is a bustling scene. Families, retirees, couples and more move about, shopping, dining and both. At the main entrance valet station, between The Cheesecake Factory and Seasons 52, you might find an Instagram-photo worthy row of cars: a black Maserati, a red Porsche, maybe a blue Bentley convertible. 

Ten years ago this site in North Sarasota, just west of the University Parkway exit of Interstate 75 and south of the Manatee County line, was a patch of dirt. It’s now not only the Mall at UTC — which turned 10 years old Oct. 16 — but it’s also a mark of major accomplishment pitted against lingering doubts and the aftermath of a global recession.

A $315 million project when University Park Benderson Development and partner Taubman Centers built it, the mall, beyond swanky shops and fancy cars, has spawned an economic engine around it. Since 2014, Benderson has developed nearly 1 million square feet of new retail and restaurant space within UTC. Nearby Nathan Benderson Park has become a global player in hosting rowing championships, and coming soon is the Mote Science Education Aquarium, a 110,000-square-foot aquarium with more than 1 million gallons of marine life exhibits. The mall itself is a two-story, 880,000-square-foot structure.

The idea for a mall on that site, or near it, dates back to the early 2000s. At one point there was a fourth planned anchor, Nordstrom, in addition to potential hotels, homes and office space. The global housing bubble squashed those bigger plans. Not only was the economy in the dumps, but indoor enclosed malls were seen by some as more of a relic of the 1980s than a 2000s redevelopment strategy. 

Yet the development team persevered. An official from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Taubman told the Observer Media Group in 2014, two weeks after the mall opened, that “we thought Sarasota was one of the great untapped markets in America. We thought there was a gigantic retail void, and we saw an opportunity to satisfy that.” 

Randy Benderson, managing director of Benderson Development, told the East County Observer that pursuing the mall project stemmed partially from his father, Nate Benderson, who “had the early vision to create a regional shopping destination here.”

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, here are 10 facts you (probably) didn’t know about the Mall at UTC. 

1. When the Mall at UTC opened in October 2014, it was the first enclosed mall to open in the U.S. since 2006. (The Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota, which opened in 1956, is considered to be the first enclosed mall.) 

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2. The Mall at UTC's ceremonial groundbreaking took place Oct. 16, 2012. The mall opened two years to the day later, Oct. 16, 2014. 

3. There is a Mall Walker Club. The mall opens one hour early each day for the club, which is free to join and offers a climate-controlled walking route with exclusive prizes for guests as they reach their fitness goals, a mall spokesperson says. 

4. There is rooftop dining — at Sophie’s, on the second floor of Saks Fifth Avenue. The restaurant is named for fashion designer Sophie Gimbel, whose husband, Bernard Gimbel, is one of the founders of Saks. 

5. You can recharge your car while you shop at Electrify America car charging stations, in parking lot 2 between Kona Grill and Macy’s. 

6. While shopping (or charging your EV) you can also watch sporting events and other big events, at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center Seating Lounge on level 1 near H&M.

7. There’s a Fab & Fit Rewards program: Present combined same-day receipts of $250 or more from UTC athletic wear retailers to customer service and choose from a selection of fitness gear. 

8. You can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at the Coinflip Bitcoin ATM, near Macy’s and Pei Wei.

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9. The mall’s concourse glazing canopies are segmented shade devices designed to address the orientation of the sun and heat exposure. They are smaller on the east side and grow progressively larger on the west side.

10. You can experience snow every day during the holiday season, inside Santa’s Flight Academy and his 22-foot-tall sleigh at the Grand Court. And if you are going to see Santa, there’s a virtual Santa Line, so you can shop and dine while waiting. Go to MallatUTC.com this November and December for more information on Santa’s Flight Academy.