Francesca's to open store in Mall at University Town Center

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Women's boutique Francesca's will open its second Sarasota County store this year inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The Houston-based clothing company filed its building permit application Monday for a 2,600-square-foot store on the mall's second floor, near Macy's. Francesca's opened a store earlier this year in Sarasota's Westfield Southgate Mall.

Francesca's started in 1999 and now has more than 450 boutiques in 45 states and sells clothes that mainly range in price from $30 to $50.

The 880,000-square-foot Mall at UTC is expected to open Oct. 16 on the corner of Cattlemen Road and University Parkway. It will be more than 90 percent leased and committed when opened with anchors Macy's, Dillard's, Saks Fifth Avenue. The 100-plus stores and restaurants include several unique to market retailers including Apple, Crate & Barrel, H&M and Cheesecake Factory.

Charles Schelle, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter@ImYourChuck.

This story was originally published August 4, 2014 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Francesca's to open store in Mall at University Town Center ."