Justine Griffin / Herald Tribune – Bass Pro Shops’ entry into the Sarasota-Bradenton market came with a surprise: The megastore outdoor retailer bypassed the site of the much balleyhooed Mall at University Town Center for a rural development just one highway exit south at Fruitville Road.

Bass Pro Shops will open an 80,000-square-foot Outpost store and anchor a new 260,000-square-foot retail center called the Fruitville Commons off Interstate 75.