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Tesla showroom coming to Sarasota.

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Tesla-Motors-to-have-showroom-in-Mall-at-University-Town-Center

Tesla Motors, a luxury electric car company that filed zoning permits with Sarasota County this week, plans to show its cars at a storefront inside the mall, an 880,000-square-foot, $315 million shopping cener slated to open in mid-October.This will be the company's first store in Southwest Florida and its eighth in the Sunshine State.
Tesla stores aren't typical car dealerships, according to media reports.
They usually are small, stark, white, modern mall storefronts that serve as low-key information centers where people can learn about the cars. Shoppers complete their purchases online.
The stores usually have one car displayed and touchscreens where shoppers can customize a vehicle.

Seeing Model Ss around Sarasota is no longer unusual; this is turning out to be a fruitful area for Tesla. Also good for David H who already lives here, I would guess he's going to be store manager - great guy.
 
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Yes, I am hoping that after Tesla gets the zoning that this will resolve the sales zoning issues associated with the Tampa Service Center location.

Presumably the suspended sales and test drive functions will be moved from Tampa to Sarasota.

I think that down the road that this location would be perfect for a Supercharger station. At a recent to the County Commissioners the Manager of Sustainability reported that 16 charging stations were going in at the new mall. Unfortunately, we don't know what type.

Larry
 
It might be cool to organize some sort of meet up for opening day for locals and those wanting to travel.

Hi Garrett,

Yes, if Tesla has their typical Grand Opening ceremony and if they provide us with adequate advance notice, I will make sure we have a meet-up. There shouldn't be a problem with finding a suitable restaurant at University Town Center.

Larry
 
There seems to be a lot of action with Lake City, Ocala and Tampa either confirmed or under construction. I stopped by the Tampa site this afternoon and the traffic was horrible (as usual). IMHO this site will be unusable from Thanksgiving through Christmas except when the mall and shops are closed. Any word on if the Town Center Mall will get superchargers? It would be nice to have another option and hopefully the mall will be able to accommodate the traffic:wink:
 
There seems to be a lot of action with Lake City, Ocala and Tampa either confirmed or under construction. I stopped by the Tampa site this afternoon and the traffic was horrible (as usual). IMHO this site will be unusable from Thanksgiving through Christmas except when the mall and shops are closed. Any word on if the Town Center Mall will get superchargers? It would be nice to have another option and hopefully the mall will be able to accommodate the traffic:wink:
Welcome to the forums.

I wrote to the County Commissioners suggesting that in the future this would be an excellent location for a Supercharger Station. One of the Commissioners said she would forward my suggestion to the Bendersons (the developer of the mall).

However, in the short-term this mall will only be 45 miles from the Tampa Supercharger Station so I wouldn't expect to see this option pursued until there is more congestion on nearby Superchargers.

Larry
 
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Someone from the press told me today that there would be 4 Tesla HPWC's at the mall and 6 or 8 J1772 chargers. Apparently they picked up the info in an advance media OP before the mall opens. Things like this have been known to get twisted out of proportion but it sounds like it could be true.
 
Nigel
I have read in some recent news articles that the mall developers actually put in infrastructure to expand on the charging stations if there is demand. Initial reports claimed they planned 16 level two stations.

From the September 12 Bradenton Herald:

"Electric car charging is a key feature mall officials are looking to perfect, providing the right type of charger as well as constructing ones that won't corrode in Florida's weather, he said.

The parking lot is also being pre-wired in case more electric car charging stations are needed in the future.


"It's not really cost-effective to do it after the fact," Ortiz said. "We're actually doing underground utility, so if we need additional in the future, it won't be a major impact for us to do those things."


Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/09/12/4713040_mall-at-university-town-center.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy"

From March 13 Herald -Tribune:

"The property will have 16 electric car charging stations. A central skylight and open window rooftop will allow Florida's abundant sunlight to illuminate the inside of the mall. A regular shuttle service will bus shoppers from the mall to existing retail plazas owned and built by Manatee County-based Benderson Development along the University Parkway and Cattlemen Road corridor."
 
Someone from the press told me today that there would be 4 Tesla HPWC's at the mall and 6 or 8 J1772 chargers. Apparently they picked up the info in an advance media OP before the mall opens. Things like this have been known to get twisted out of proportion but it sounds like it could be true.

Hi Nigel,

When the Suncoast EV Colaborative and the Manager of Sustainability reported to the County Commissioners a few months ago, the manager reported that there would be 16 chargers at University Town Center. She didn't state what type.

With the Tesla store being confirmed to me by Tesla it would be unusual if there weren't HPWC being installed to support its operations.

Larry