It's been 35 year since a new area mall has been built in Sarasota.  Now, the city's about to get a serious upgrade with a brand new $315 million mall currently under construction.

The Mall at the University Town Center as it's called is being built by Taubman Centers Inc. and Benderson Development Co. of Manatee County and is expected to be similar to the International Plaza in Tampa.  The three anchor stores of the new mall in Sarasota will be Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Dillards.

But, for any of this to work, it needs employees, and lots of them.  To begin, the mall needs 1,000 construction jobs to be filled, another 2,000 for stores in the mall once it opens, and another 3,000 for planned retail stores and restaurants surrounding the new mall.  This will surely comes as great news to those looking for jobs in Sarasota.

Once completed, the county expects to gain about $100 million in yearly sales tax revenue with about $400 million pumped into the regional economy as a result of the mall opening.

Mall officials are shooting for an opening date sometime during October of 2014 at the new location just off of Interstate 75 near Lakewood Ranch.

We'll keep you posted as more news arises.