Selby Gardens unveils $51.6 million phase one renovation

Selby president and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki shares the pruning shears with board chair Joel Morganroth at the recent grand opening of the gardens’ phase one. SELBY GARDENS / RYAN GAMMA PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTOS

From the moment visitors to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota park their cars, they are in for a surprise.

Last month, the gardens opened phase one of its master plan as president and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki and board chair Joel Morganroth cut the ribbon at its grand opening, which was attended by hundreds of donors, other guests and members of the press.

Selby now has the distinction of being the only net-positive energy botanical garden in the world.

Administration went all out with speeches, music by Choral Artists of Sarasota, behind-the-scenes tours of the new additions and a reception in The Green Orchid Restaurant. (This spring, Selby will offer weekly behind-the-scenes tours to its visitors.)

The project adds 188,030 square feet of new facilities and amenities to the campus, which is uniquely dedicated to the display and study of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads, ferns and other tropical plants.

It features the Morganroth Family Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF), which houses parking, a garden-to-plate restaurant, new gift shop, vertical gardens, and nearly 50,000-square-foot solar array.

RIGHT: The new open-air Jean Goldstein Welcome Center. FAR RIGHT: Richard Roark and Marni Burns in the molecular lab. SELBY GARDENS / RYAN GAMMA PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY PHOTOS

The Steinwachs Family Plant Research Center, a hurricane-hardened building, now secures Selby’s scientific. The Elaine Nicpon Marieb Herbarium and Laboratory contains preserved collections of more than 125,000 dried and pressed plant specimens and molecular scientific work, a research library, spirit laboratory with more than 35,000 specimens preserved in fluid, conference rooms, administrative offices, a rooftop garden and solar array.

The open-air Jean Goldstein Welcome Center consists of a ticketing pavilion, welcome gallery and theater to orient guests.

A stormwater management system now diverts and cleans millions of gallons of water each year before it is returned to Sarasota Bay.

Improvements also include a publicly accessible trail and off-site roadway improvements, making access easier, and several new garden and water features with more open space, including a lily pond garden, glades garden and the restoration of historic Palm Avenue as a pedestrian-only promenade. The museum gift and plant shop has been expanded with a large variety of books, jewelry, clothing and other items.

The Green Orchid restaurant, which is operated by Michael’s On East, features a rooftop edible garden that provides fresh produce for the menu. The edible garden was planted and is maintained by Operation EcoVets, a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for veterans.

More than 98% of the funding came from private contributions. More than $57 million has been raised so far, with $51.6 million directed to phase one.

“The completion of phase one aligns well with Selby Gardens’ 50th anniversary,” Rominiecki said. “What better way to celebrate the last 50 years than by putting in the necessary infrastructure for the next 50?”

A timeline for the second and third phases of the master plan will be announced soon. Projects will include a hurricane-resilient greenhouse, a learning pavilion and restoration of the landmark Payne Mansion, which serves as the Museum of Botany & the Arts.

In recent news, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens was notified it has been nominated for Best Botanical Garden in the United States through USA Today’s 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards.

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