Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange partner with Selby Gardens and Willis Smith Construction

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ (Selby Gardens) 10-year, three-phase Master Site Plan is estimated to support nearly 3,000 jobs, with priority given to businesses that employ City of Sarasota residents.  As a further benefit to the community and to ensure that there is a trained job force available for Selby Gardens’ Master Plan project, Selby Gardens and our construction partner, Willis Smith Construction, announce a collaboration with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s CareerEdge Funders Collaborative (CareerEdge) and the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange to build on the success of their “Fast-Track Training Program.“

This program model provides job training to local community members who want to learn a trade and earn credentials while also seeking to close the gaps in skills in our region by connecting local citizens to training programs in high demand fields such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC and machining. Upon learning the trade and earning credentials, these individuals will enter into a career path that will provide family-sustaining wages.

“We were thrilled when the team at Selby Gardens approached us with the possibility to expand this successful program,” says Mireya C. Eavey, Executive Vice President of CareerEdge & Education Initiatives at the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. “With the framework for the program already in place, we were able to move quickly in solidifying this collaboration. We look forward to providing our City residents with important skills-training while also furthering the innovative plan at Selby Gardens.”

Selby Gardens will secure the philanthropic funding necessary to expand the “Fast-Track Training Program,” further ensuring that local residents have the necessary skills to work for subcontractors throughout the 10-year Master Plan project.

“We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with CareerEdge and the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange to further the public benefits that our Master Site Plan affords the entire Sarasota community,” says Jennifer Rominiecki, President & CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. “It is our hope that this collaboration will serve as a model for other projects on the horizon in the City of Sarasota.”

Managed by Willis Smith Construction, subcontractors who hire individuals trained through this program will be given priority in the bidding process for Selby Gardens’ Master Plan project. In addition, priority will be given to subcontractors with the highest number of employees living in the City of Sarasota and those that are Certified Minority Business Enterprises or Women Business Enterprises.

“As a local company, we understand the importance of having skilled, local residents,” says David Sessions, President & CEO of Willis Smith Construction. “It not only provides a sustainable workforce but also contributes to a healthy economy.”

Upon completion of the proposed 10-year, three-phase Master Site Plan, Selby Gardens will become the First Net Positive Botanical Garden complex in the world. Key sustainability features of the Master Plan project include a storm-water management system that will return clean water to the bay, edible gardening, and a solar array atop the Sky Garden that will power the entirety of Phase One of the project.

“We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate on this training program” says Mary Dougherty, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange. “Selby Gardens’ Master Plan project will allow trained workers to gain experience in sustainable building practices—important skills that can be transferred to other future projects within the region.”

For more information on Selby Gardens’ Master Plan, visit www.selby.org.