Show skills, win cool prizes

Buzz around The Mall at University Town Center has gotten louder in recent weeks.

For good reason: The mall, a $315 million retail project in north Sarasota County, is scheduled to open Oct. 16. New store announcements, inside configuration of stores and various future grand-opening events have dominated the news of late. The project is an 880,000-square-foot, two-story mall, a partnership between University Park-based Benderson Development and Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers. Anchors are Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Dillard's.

The latest buzz-building move is a photo contest to bring out the creative side of the mall's future shoppers.