Bass Pro Shops hunts for Sarasota store progress

After nearly a year-and-a-half of silence about a Bass Pro Shops slated for east Sarasota County, the retailer is moving forward with the planning of an 80,000-square-foot 'Outpost'.

Sarasota County commissioners are considering a request from the chain, through area attorney John Patterson, to process a comprehensive plan amendment that would assure such a commercial development could be built under the Fruitville Initiative, a public-private partnership.

"As with any development of this size, there are considerable infrastructure requirements, traffic patterns, road improvements, zoning needs and other key details that need to be finalized before plans can move forward," Bass Pro Director of Communications Jack Wlezian wrote in an email to the Sarasota Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. "Filing this amendment allows us to continue exploring the best scenarios for our company, the adjacent land owners and the community as the initiative evolves."

The retailer is under contract to purchase more than 40 acres — which makes up about one-tenth of a planning district designed to encourage mixed-use, walkable development — from the family of David Walters. “Having owned the property for more than 30 years, we are extremely excited that Bass Pro Shops has chosen our site for the home of their latest complex," Walters says in a 2014 statement. "The concept of a Bass Pro Shops Outpost store is exactly what was envisioned when the mixed-use Fruitville Initiative was conceived."

Bass Pro plans to open the store as part of a larger development at the intersection of I-75 and Fruitville Road, according to the release. The outdoor store, which specializes in selling hunting, fishing and camping supplies, will anchor the 260,000-square-foot Fruitville Commons. The store will feature a nautical-themed bowling alley and restaurant Uncle Bucks FishBowl and Grill. It will create 200 full- and part-time jobs.

“It is an honor to be part of an exciting development such as Fruitville Commons and the history-rich Sarasota community,” Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris says in the release. “Our new Bass Pro Shops Outpost retail attraction will be a tribute to the great sporting tradition and heritage of the region and a celebration of the sporting men and women of Florida.”