The 2025 version of the multiple University Town Center districts in east Manatee and north Sarasota counties, with its hundreds of stores and dozens of restaurants — in addition to its thousands of employees — has a rather simple, yet significant, origin story.
It’s a tale wrapped in a fish restaurant, with a secondary role played by a discount department store.
The history is relevant today as the company behind UTC, University Park-based Benderson Development, looks at how it will build out some 75 acres on the east side of the property on the Sarasota County side, alongside Interstate 75. Future projects in and around there include the first-ever residential component of UTC; potentially up to three hotels; an entertainment and music district; and a large swath of new office space…