During a quick drive this morning through the village of Osprey, I noticed that the first phase of Bay Street Village, the 45 acre, new urban, mixed-use development, just south of The Oaks Club, appears almost complete and ready for its first commercial tenants, which are slated to include Quizno's Subs, Starbucks, Decor De France--a Sarasota based home decor and gift shop (there's also a location on St. Armand's Circle), a cafe, a boutique salon, a bank and a jeweler.

A quick trip up to the northern end of the county a few weeks back revealed a couple of piles of dirt and moving equipment marking the future site of the 900,000 square foot University Town Center, the mall project which will be anchored by Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus and Macy's. Development partners include Taubman Centers, Inc.--the developer of International Plaza in Tampa and The Mall at Millenia in Orlando. When combined with surrounding hotels, restaurants, homes and offices, the project will be over 1.7million square feet.

With the opening currently planned for November, 2010, impatient Sarasota shoppers will have to make do with architectural renderings for the time being.