Sarasota's Marie Selby Botanical Gardens opens first phase of expansion
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 18, 2024

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has completed the first phase of its master plan for its campus in downtown Sarasota.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 9 for the project’s first phase, which adds 188,030 square feet of facilities and amenities. The campus is dedicated to the “display and study of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads, ferns and other tropical plants.”

In total, Selby Gardens has a 15-acre downtown Sarasota campus and a 30-acre Historic Spanish Point campus in the Osprey area of Sarasota. The gardens’ boosters raised over $57 million, completing the phase one Campaign Capping Challenge.

Phase one includes the Morganroth Family Living Energy Access Facility, which will have parking, a garden-to-plate restaurant, a gift shop, vertical gardens and a nearly 50,000-square-foot solar array. The solar attribute makes Selby Gardens the “first net-positive energy botanical garden complex in the world,” according to the group.

The restaurant is called The Green Orchid and will be operated by Michael’s on East. It will have a rooftop edible garden that provides produce for the menu and will open in February.

The Steinwachs Family Plant Research Center was also included in phase one. Within the facility are the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Herbarium and Laboratory, a research library, a spirit laboratory, conference rooms, offices and a rooftop garden. The Jean Goldstein Welcome Center was also added, which has a welcome gallery and theater.

There were also upgrades to the stormwater management system, the addition of a multiuse recreational trail and several new garden and water features.

Selby Gardens attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year. A timeline for the second and third phases of the master plan will be announced soon. The phases will include building a hurricane-resilient greenhouse complex and a learning pavilion with expanded capacity to host school programs and classes for children and adults.

They also intend to restore the landmark Payne Mansion, home to the Museum of Botany and the Arts, and unify all the walking paths throughout the campus. There are also plans to renovate the docks and bolster the sea walls surrounding the property.

The master plan was led by international landscape architecture studio OLIN, building architecture firm Overland Partners, and civil engineer Kimley-Horn. Willis Smith Construction serves as the construction manager.