If you’re a resident of the Sarasota-Bradenton area, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that The Mall at University Town Center is now.
As a local, I have been waiting for UTC since they first broke ground back in 2012. Almost two years to the day, the mall celebrated the grand opening, with more than 100 new retailers, 7 full service restaurants, and three anchor stores, Macy’s, Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.
I was invited to the Sneak Peek Charity Preview event as well as the opening day festivities to check out the mall and all the new retailers. I was prepared to be impressed, and instead I was blown away. The Mall at University Town Center is absolutely gorgeous! The time and effort that went into the project can be seen in every tiny detail. Taubman and Benderson really pulled out all the stops to bring us such an incredible shopping and dining hub— just look at sky lights that reach from one end of the mall to the other … and they even light up at night!
Gorgeous, right?
The mall has been open for a month now and I’m almost embarrassed to say how many times I’ve stopped in! But really, how could I not? ALL of my favorite stores are now in one location! Here’s just a quick rundown of my faves. {You can view the full UTC directory here}
– Anthropologie
– H&M (coming soon!)
– Macy’s
– Bath & Body Works
– Crate & Barrel
– LOFT
– MAC Cosmetics
– Sephora
– Victoria’s Secret
– Yankee Candle
– Apple
 And of course, THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY! Seriously, this is the best thing to happen to Sarasota (but maybe not my waistline!).
My daughter is equally impressed, and I think that says a lot because she’s only ten. I will say that I think they are missing a few stores in the tween market, like Justice— but hopefully H&M will cover this demographic when they open next month.
For parents with younger children, the UTC has an incredible children’s play area sponsored by Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. {Check out this great post from another local mom blogger, Carlee, who took her daughter to UTC for some mommy & me time}
I plan to take full advantage of UTC this holiday season, and can’t wait to get back once all of the Christmas decor is up and all of the holiday sales are underway. Disney’s ‘Frozen’ interactive Ice Palace will be in the center of the mall along with Santa Claus, bringing a new element of fun to Sarasota.
Special thanks to Taubman for inviting me to experience the Mall at University Town Center. All opinions are my own.
