Selby Gardens secures $21.8 million for master plan

In pursuit of significant renovations to its bayfront campus, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has launched a fundraising campaign that seeks to raise $92 million to help implement a master plan.

On Saturday, Selby Gardens announced it has secured $21.8 million in donations. That’s more half the total needed to construct the first phase of the master plan, the botanical garden said in a release. The plan includes three phases intended to be built over the course of a decade. Of the overall fundraising goal, $72 million would go toward construction, with the rest dedicated to operational needs and Selby’s endowment.

Selby originally shared its master plan with the public last year. Although the plans have been adjusted since then, the general scope of the proposal largely remains unchanged. The organization hopes to build a five-story parking garage that includes a restaurant and retail space, a new welcome center, a plant research center and a greenhouse complex.

The first phase includes the parking garage, welcome center and plant research center. It also includes the conversion of Palm Avenue into a pedestrian corridor and the preservation of the Selby House, Payne Mansion, Carriage House and Michael’s on the Bay event space. Other older buildings on the property are slated for demolition.

Representatives for Selby provided an overview of the updated master plan at an Oct. 3 community workshop. Although many residents in attendance at that meeting remained opposed to the proposal, the organization believes it has made a serious effort to address neighborhood concerns.

Now, as it attempts to raise funds to make the project a reality, Selby is arguing the master plan represents an opportunity to establish itself as a world-class botanical institution.

“This campaign will elevate Selby Gardens at the international level, and we are fortunate to have the gardens here in Sarasota where community members and visitors from around the world will be able to experience it,” campaign co-chairwoman and lead donor Jean Weidner Goldstein said in a release.

The master plan would increase the green space on Selby’s campus by 50%, the release stated. That includes a rooftop garden and living walls along the sides of the parking garage, a building Selby refers to as the Sky Garden.

Michael’s on East would operate the restaurant in the parking structure. The restaurant would be an independent primary use on the land, though “a significant percentage of the restaurant’s proceeds will benefit Selby Gardens,” according to the release.

Selby intends it to be a certified net-positive energy restaurant, which the organization said would be the first of its kind in the world. The restaurant would make use of a 20,000-square-foot solar panel array on the garage’s rooftop, which would provide enough energy for the entire first phase, Selby said.

The proposal is still subject to city review. Before the master plan can be implemented, the zoning on the 14-acre Selby campus must be changed. The city is working with Selby on the creation of a new zoning classification specific to the garden’s property, tailored to the details of the master plan.

If it gains the necessary approvals, Selby hopes to break ground on the first phase in late 2019.