Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has received another $1 million gift towards capital needs for Phase I of the downtown Sarasota campus Master Plan—this time from Susan and Zuheir Sofia. It is the third million-dollar gift Selby Gardens has announced in the last two weeks. Susan Sofia is a former banker and public school educator and is a member of Selby Gardens’ Advisory Committee. Zuheir Sofia is the chairman and CEO of Business Bank of Florida and senior advisor of Elizabeth Park Capital.

To date, Selby Gardens has raised more than 90 percent of the funds needed to implement Phase I of the $42.5 million needed to implement the first phase of the Master Plan, more than $38.5 million has been raised. Selby Gardens will break ground soon at a ceremony on Thursday, June 3, 2021; its three-phase Master Plan will take several years to complete.