Benderson proposes expansion to UTC site

EAST COUNTY — As leaders of Benderson Development plan for the future of the University Parkway corridor, they see an opportunity to further cement the area as a shopping and business destination.

With the recommendation of the Sarasota Planning Commission in hand Dec. 4, the company hopes to move forward with a vision to expand its University Town Center Development of Regional Impact, home to the Target-anchored The District at UTC and The Mall at University Town Center projects.

Sarasota County commissioners in January will consider Benderson’s proposal to add 600,000 square feet of commercial and 100,000 square feet of office space to the overall 276-acre property at the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and University Parkway.

“There’s nothing but demand,” said Todd Mathes, director of development for Benderson. “The natural reaction is, ‘Who else could be out there?’ But when you look at the (retailer) list who wanted to be here — and it’s long — there’s definitely a demand, which is great.

“The project hasn’t changed in terms of scope and configuration,” he said. “People were already coming here, and people have more choices.”

Mathes said the square footage will include a mix of national retailers new to the state or region, as well as smaller tenants more in line with those at The District at UTC plaza.

Benderson’s petition also amends the development concept plan to allow for transient accommodations, garden centers with outside merchandise, retail with more than 60,000 square feet of gross floor area in a single building, outdoor dining between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., except on Sundays, and outdoor entertainment within 200 feet of the western property line until 10 p.m. It also adds building heights within certain building categories.

Although commissioners raised concerns about how the project would impact traffic along University Parkway, Mathes said Benderson has worked with Sarasota County to implement signal-timing changes to improve traffic flow in the area and it also has accounted for increased square footages in previous traffic analysis. The approvals require Benderson to create a Traffic Management Association, tasked with encouraging people to utilize trolley and bus service and carpooling to and from University Town Center shopping plazas.

Benderson also proposes adding an additional 5-acre site to the western portion of the property and modifying that property’s future land-use designation from moderate-density residential to high-density residential.

Benderson has updated its site plan to show high-density residential development at the southwest corner of Cattlemen and Desoto roads, immediately south of the new site. There, the company soon will break ground on a Homewood Suites hotel.

Mathes said the plan update spreads allowed densities across the project, but does not change the total maximum allowed — 1,750 units.

The plan would require the mitigation of impacted wetlands there, as well as at the northwest corner of I-75 and University Parkway. Sarasota planning commissioners said they believed the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which would oversee mitigation, would address environmental concerns.

BY THE NUMBERS
633,888 - Original Phase I retail/commercial square-footage approvals

1,046,112 - Original Phase II retail/commercial square-footage approvals

500 - Hotel rooms

1,750 - Multifamily units

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].