The Mall at University Town Center began in 2002 when Benderson Corporation purchased the land and announced their intention to build the land into a regional mall. In 2007,
Nordstrom signed a letter of intent to open at the mall.
Neiman Marcus and
Macy's signed letters of intent soon after, with a planned groundbreaking in 2008 and a planned opening in 2010. The Taubman Corp. joined the project in May 2008, a 50/50 split with Benderson. In summer of 2009, the project was placed on hold due to the
Great Recession, and the three planned anchor stores pulled out. On October 15, 2012, a revamped Mall at University Town Center was unveiled.
Macy's rejoined the project, this time joined by
Dillard's and
Saks Fifth Avenue. Groundbreaking would occur on October 15, 2012. The Mall would officially open on October 16, 2014. At the time of its opening it was the first regional shopping center built in Sarasota in 35 years and was one of two enclosed malls that opened in the United States during 2014. During the
COVID-19 pandemic the mall would close starting on March 19, 2020 and ended up reopening on May 6. On March 6, 2026, Saks Global announced the closure of 12 Saks Fifth Avenue and 3 Neiman Marcus locations nationwide in an effort to further cut costs and focus on more profitable locations, including the Saks store at The Mall at University Town Center. However, shortly after this announcement, negotiations began with some of the landlords for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus stores to keep them open. Ultimately, a deal was reached between the landlord of the store and Saks Global to keep Saks Fifth Avenue store open at University Town Center. As of March 24, 2026, the store will continue to operate. == The District at UTC ==