Selby Gardens shares revised master plan details

Fewer than 10 days after a community workshop on proposed revisions to a campus master plan, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens released additional information about its vision for redeveloping its bayfront home.

Selby Gardens officials shared finalized conceptual images depicting the master plan proposal on Sunday. The renderings showcase a parking garage, ground-level restaurant, a new welcome center and more.

The botanical garden is working to gain the city’s approval to implement a $92 million master plan initiative for the 15-acre site at Orange Avenue and Mound Street. The city rejected the organization’s first proposal last year after a lengthy series of public hearings that featured outspoken opposition from some residents living near the project site.

Selby Gardens has emphasized several areas in which the planning team is adjusting its vision to acknowledge some aspects of the proposal fueling the opposition. In the release, Selby said the 75-foot-tall parking garage has been reduced to a four-story structure with a height of 38.5 feet. At a Jan. 15 community workshop, Selby said the overall mass of the garage is reduced 30%, with the footprint of the building increased to offset some of the reduction in height.

The release said the proposed restaurant is reduced from 185 seats to 110 seats. Selby had previously announced the restaurant would move from the rooftop of the garage to the ground level in the revised plans. The new proposal calls for the restaurant to have the same hours of operation as Selby Gardens.

Selby still intends to implement the master plan in three phases over 10 years. The organization said it has already raised $35 million toward the implementation effort. The first phase is expected to cost $42.5 million and will include the parking garage, a plant research center, a welcome center and a public, multiuse recreational trail.

Selby Gardens has not yet filed a revised master plan with the city. At the Jan. 15 workshop, Selby pledged to work with residents to refine the details of the new proposal in hopes of addressing continued concerns about traffic and on-site events.