Mall Man

The Mall at University Town Center, a recession-busting project that has captivated both the Sarasota-Bradenton business community and the local construction industry, has a new point man.
That leader is Octavio “Tav” Ortiz. Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers, which oversees the mall in a joint venture with Benderson Development, named Ortiz general manager of the mall in early September.
Ortiz comes to the project, a $315 million two-story, enclosed mall with 880,000 square feet of retail space, from a diverse career in retail management. Past career stops include general manager of The Shops at Willow Bend in North Dallas and executive positions with Simon Property Group locations in Sunrise, Georgia and North Carolina. Ortiz has been on the leadership team of three previous mall projects beginning with the construction phase.
Retail tenants already announced for The Mall at University Town Center include Dillard's, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Expected restaurants include Cheesecake Factory and Seasons 52. The mall itself is expected to open in October 2014.
“It's a fabulous facility,” Ortiz says. “Once we open and take off, we should be very successful. The mall will be a major destination.”
A Houston-area native who now lives with his wife and son in east Manatee County, Ortiz will spend the first few weeks of his new job on a local road show. That includes meetings with local officials, business leaders and reporters. Ortiz, 47, recently sat down with the Business Observer to talk about his career and the highly anticipated mall. Here's an edited transcript of the conversation: