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Plans unveiled new office, retail space in central Coconut Grove
by Alessandra Gonzalez
As Coconut Grove regains its appeal as a thriving commercial district, two of the neighborhood’s deepest-rooted developers are transforming a 1980s-era parking garage into a contemporary mixed-use building that will meet growing demand for office space and prime retail.
Developed by Terra in partnership with Mayfair Real Estate Advisors, the Touzet Studio-designed complex — named “Mary Street” — will include 75,000 square feet of Class A office space, reimagined retail storefronts at street-level while retaining a public parking garage. Construction will begin in early 2017.
”The building’s design will transform the existing parking garage’s 1980s aesthetic into a modernist structure featuring a terracotta brise soleil whose vertical patterns mirror the contours of a seashell, and transformed retail storefronts that will enhance visibility and accessibility from the street. Touzet Studio’s involvement with Mary Street represents a homecoming for principal Carlos Prio-Touzet, a Ransom Everglades School graduate who worked as a writer for the Village Post newspaper in the 1960s when the publication’s offices were located on the same site. [. . .]
“Our design for Mary Street is inspired by the same characteristics that have long defined Coconut Grove — walkable tree-lined streets, the relationship with the water, and an embrace of arts and culture,” explained architects Carlos and Jackie Touzet. “By approaching this as an adaptive reuse project, we were able to preserve the village-like vibe at street level while creating unique office spaces above and reducing our impact on the community. The result is a design that respects its surroundings and enlivens the neighborhood, rather than changing it.”
See the full news article here.
