The vacant property flanks the tiny 1926 cottage where Marjory Stoneman Douglas lived and worked. Restoration work is ongoing.
The state of Florida appears to be one step closer to honoring the legacy of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by restoring the historic Coconut Grove property where the author and environmentalist lived and worked.
The state recently purchased a piece of vacant land on Stewart Avenue adjacent to the 1926 cottage where Douglas wrote “The Everglades: River of Grass.”
The sale was announced on November 21 by the Land Trust of Dade County, which bought the land in 1993 with the intention of combining the two properties. The vacant lot was previously owned by Douglas’s college roommate.
“The exciting news is now there’s more property to accomplish Marjory’s dream,” said Peter Jude, treasurer of the Land Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of historic and environmentally significant properties. “Our hope is by combining the two properties, it better protects Marjory’s home.”
The sale price for the 8,300-square-foot property at 3754 Stewart Avenue was $1.78 million, Jude said. The Land Trust intends to use proceeds from the sale to support state efforts to restore the cottage, a National Historic Landmark, and open the site to the public.
“Our hope is to continue to work with the state,” Jude said. “We will utilize some of these funds to assist with the restoration.”
Jude is the son of Sallye Jude, a local preservationist and friend of Douglas who advocated for opening the Douglas property to the public. She died in 2022.
“This is something that my mother didn’t live to see, but was a dream of hers,” Jude said. As fulfilling as it was to complete the sale, Jude says that dream won’t be complete until the state restores the property and provides access to the public.
“We certainly need to hold them accountable,” he said. “The real test will be the day the public gets access, per Marjory’s wishes.”
The property is currently being restored, with plans to provide public access once the project is complete. Earlier this year, state officials posted a large sign in front of the cottage announcing the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas Cottage Structural and Public Access Improvements.”
Planned improvements include a new stormwater system, structural repairs to the cottage, and landscape plantings, but the status of the work is unclear. Also unclear: how state officials plan to manage public access to the historic property.
The state Department of Environmental Preservation did not immediately respond this week to a request from the Spotlight for an update on the project and additional details on its plans for public access.
State officials have said previously that small groups of visitors could be shuttled to the site from the Barnacle Historic State Park on Main Highway to limit traffic and congestion in the neighborhood – a point of contention among neighbors.
Built in 1926 in the style of a thatched English cottage, the rustic 916-square-foot house was purchased by the state of Florida in 1992. The property is now managed as part of the Florida state park system.
After the purchase, Douglas was allowed to live out her last years in the home, with the intention that, after her death, it would become a museum honoring her life and legacy. Douglas died in 1998 at the age of 108.
