Celebration sheds light on Sarasota mall's future

As a group of retailers and media nibbled on breakfast to celebrate The Mall at University Town Center’s one-year anniversary, Thomas Przybylski looked up at the mall’s skylight ceiling and smiled.

“Just look at this mall,” said Przybylski, the general manager of Kona Grill.  “It is gorgeous, cutting edge. You feel like you are in Florida even though you are in an enclosed area.”

While most in attendance were celebrating the mall’s prosperous first year, Benderson Development Executive Director Mark Chait was looking toward the future.

The Mall at UTC is owned and managed by Taubman in partnership with Benderson Development, Inc. Chait’s official title is executive director of leasing-Southeast.

He was excited about his company’s work in developing the area surrounding the mall.

He talked about incoming restaurants such as a beer-centric establishment and said Rusty Bucket was in the works as well. He noted that an upscale day spa would open soon, along with a massage facility.

The Homewood Suites Hotel will have 133 rooms open for business in the fall of 2016 and Chait said a movie theater would be constructed on the south side of the mall along with many other projects.

“Obviously, the mall is doing phenomenally well,” Chait said. “We expect things to be even better next year. Wow, a year has gone by. But our excitement comes from the future. What else can we do?”

Octavio Ortiz is the Mall UTC’s general manager and he is not surprised by the mall’s success.

“This was an underserved market,” he said. “If you look at our restaurants, 100% are new to this market. Over half of our tenants are new to this area.

“The architecture is unbelievable here. People gravitate to it.”

The Mall at UTC,which measures 880,000 square feet and cost $315 million to build, opened  Oct. 16, 2014 with more than 100 shops and restaurants. It since has added 25 new stores and restaurants.

Christel Hathaway, the owner of Banana Moon, said she thought The Mall at UTC was the perfect spot for what she called her “flagship” swimwear store on the west coast of Florida. She expects the mall to mall to continue to be prosperous.

“What I like, frankly, about an enclosed mall is the weather,” she said, noting that people will shop longer hours in a climate-controlled environment. “And it’s so beautiful here. In Miami, the mall is so old and you feel like you are in prison.”