Mary Street

Mary Street is environmentally certified with energy-saving elements, and provides on-site above-ground parking, offices with direct access, flexible floor plans for retail and professional operations, and covered drop-off and valet space, among other business-centric amenities simply not found in Coconut Grove’s limited commercial inventory. Mary Street is also home to Terra Group’s headquarters nestled in the center of Coconut Grove.

Conceptually, Mary Street was designed by Touzet to activate an otherwise static corner in a quiet area of Coconut Grove. The desire was to create engaging forms and textures that would capture the attention of passing pedestrians and drivers on the well-traveled street corner. Visual inspiration came from the patterns of the Dellesert’s Lyria seashell, whose spiraling structure is noticeable for its reddish-orange ribs that resemble the strings of a lyre. Those same natural patterns have been approximated and re-interpreted with a grille of hollow terracotta ribs on the building’s exterior that alternate in tone from reddish-orange to paler sand-colored hues, set in random order on an aluminum frame that wraps around two sides of the building.

The five-story parking garage that originally occupied the site was adapted to create a mixed-use complex with outdoor cafés, restaurants, and street-level retail, as well as three floors of Class-A offices. The corner is set back with an upper balcony to create a void so that the facade unfolds and draws the eye upwards.

In addition to bringing much-needed commercial and retail space to Coconut Grove, Mary Street also demonstrated that responsible development also serves a practical purpose. The adaptive re-use component of the project minimized waste while also helping accelerate the completion timeline for highly sought-after offices and retail locations. Enhanced modern building features such as LED lighting, high-performance (low solar gain) glass, and updated technical and operational systems made the building more cost-effective in terms of energy efficiency, maintenance, and conservation of natural resources. These achievements directly benefit office and retail tenants by lowering overhead costs associated with running their businesses. As well, the various improvements earned Mary Street a Silver Certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition for its inclusion of sustainable and green building practices.