November 12, 2025 | Sarasota, FL. – Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is pleased to announce that the official Groundbreaking Ceremony for Phase Two of its transformative three-phase Master Plan for the Downtown Sarasota campus will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
To date, Phase Two has reached 88% of the necessary funding, with a grand total of $118 million raised for the entire Project.
Building on the success of Phase One, this next phase will further enhance Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus, securing its resiliency and expanding its beauty, research facilities, and educational offerings for the community and visitors from around the world. The capital goal for Phase Two stands at $60.9 million. $53.2 million has now been raised, which is 88% of the goal. The cumulative total of funds raised for both Phases One and Two has reached $118 million, including nearly $10 million for endowment with 99% percent of all funds coming from private philanthropy. Phase Two is expected to open in 2028.
Several new seven figure gifts have been received. The current Leadership Donors for Phase Two range from $500,000 up to $15,000,000 and include the following individuals:
LEADERSHIP DONORS:
Anonymous; Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation; Dr. Andrew Economos; The Gardener Foundation; Gutenstein Legacy Foundation; Deb Kabinoff; Marcy and Michael Klein; Maryl and Bill Levine; Katherine and Frank Martucci; Cornelia and Richard Matson; William and Marianne McComb of the McComb Family Foundation; Mary Ann and John Meyer; Keith Monda and Veronica Brady; Drs. Joel Morganroth and Gail Morrison Morganroth; Laura and Kevin O’Donohue; Audrey Robbins; Jean M. Russell; Richard and Ellen Sandor; Sea Grape Foundation/Rick and Nancy Moskovitz; Lucinda Spaney; Steinwachs Family Foundation; The Stone Foundation; Hobart and Janis Swan; Martin and Zelia Trueb; David Welle and Rosemary Reinhardt; Judy Zuckerberg and family in memory of our beloved George
The Co-Chairs of the Phase Two Campaign effort are Dr. Gail Morrison Morganroth and Selby Gardens’ Trustee Audrey Robbins.
Phase Two consists of a new Conservatory Complex, a Learning Pavilion, and key landscape features. The new Conservatory Complex will be the crown jewel of the Downtown Sarasota campus – a state-of-the-art structure filled with more than 20,000 plants from Selby Gardens’ living research collections (including the best scientifically documented collections of orchids and bromeliads in the world). Building on the innovative sustainability leadership established in Phase One, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is committed to advancing this legacy with 100% renewable energy, sustainable water harvesting, and resilient design to inspire future generations and protect its collections. These initiatives ensure a resilient infrastructure that supports the Gardens’ environmental stewardship, designed not only to serve generations of visitors but also to safeguard the organization’s invaluable botanical collections. This commitment positions Selby Gardens as a model for cultural and botanical institutions, embracing a forward-thinking approach to resilience and resource efficiency.
Today, the public can see less than 5% of Selby Gardens’ living research collections; the new Conservatory Complex will make nearly 100% of Selby Gardens’ world-renowned wild collected plants visible to the public. In addition, a new Learning Pavillion will feature enhanced facilities for all of Selby Gardens’ education programs, as well as enhanced gardens and landscape features that will expand the beauty and resilience of our bayfront sanctuary.
Selby Gardens President and CEO Jennifer O. Rominiecki stated, “On behalf of our Board Chair Katherine Martucci, and all of our Trustees, we are thrilled to break ground on this transformational undertaking. As we prepare for Phase Two of our Master Plan, we do so with deep appreciation for everyone who supports the mission and vision of Selby Gardens and the phenomenal generosity of our community. Our living research collection is a cornerstone of conservation, education, and scientific discovery; safeguarding it from the growing impacts of hurricanes is both urgent and essential to ensure this irreplaceable collection can continue to flourish and inform critical research.”
The recent January 2024 completion of Phase One added 188,033 sq. ft of new amenities to Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus and features:
- The cutting-edge Morganroth Family Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF), which houses parking, a garden-to-plate restaurant—The Green Orchid by Michael’s On East, a new gift shop, vertical gardens, and a nearly 50,000 square-foot solar array that makes Selby Gardens the first net-positive energy botanical garden complex in the world;
- The state-of-the-art Steinwachs Family Plant Research Center, which secures irreplaceable scientific resources in a hurricane-resilient structure and provides a window into once behind-the-scenes world-class research. The facility contains the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Herbarium and Laboratory (housing preserved collections of more than 125,000 dried and pressed plant specimens and molecular scientific work), as well as a research library (with priceless volumes dating to the 1700s), spirit laboratory (with more than 40,000 specimens preserved in fluid—the second largest collection of its kind in the world), conference rooms, administrative offices, as well as a rooftop garden and solar array;
- The open-air Jean Goldstein Welcome Center consisting of a ticketing pavilion, welcome gallery, and welcome theater to properly accommodate and orient guests;
- a major stormwater management system to divert and clean millions of gallons of water each year before it is returned to Sarasota Bay;
- a publicly accessible multiuse recreational trail enabling multimodal transportation to the campus and the bayfront;
- off-site roadway improvements, which also make access easier and safer;
- and a number of 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.
Attracting over 300,000 visitors a year, Selby Gardens is looking toward the future with this ambitious expansion for its Downtown Sarasota campus, which is one of the most biodiverse botanical gardens in the world. The Phase Two project team has been guided by the international landscape architecture studio OLIN with architecture by Sweet Sparkman Architecture & Interiors, civil engineer Kimley-Horn and Associates, MEP by Engineering Matrix, structural engineering by TY Lin Silman and conservatory advisory by Ron Determann and Jeffrey Woolsey and renderings by L Design. Willis Smith Construction serves as the construction manager.
Images & Captions: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5jf14j3nr6fnvf0hklukd/AOF2R-z5tXFPC1JJHUjD0TU?rlkey=8qrppplvi3ryurINALlioa8djlx1c&dl=0
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