When Red Bird Shopping Center was sold in October for $62.1 million, the transaction initially landed as routine real estate news. Months later, the deal took on a second life online.
Local real estate agent Lynley Ciorobea, who posts under @lynleyresidential, recently called attention to the sale in an Instagram video that quickly spread among Miami residents. In the post, Ciorobea noted that the shopping center had sold to a company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, saying, “This place hasn’t sold for 40 years, and we do not know what’s going to happen next, but we’ve promised to keep you in the loop as the story unfolds.”
The post struck a nerve with locals who know Red Bird not as an investment asset but as a familiar neighborhood stop. Commenters shared memories of shopping trips with parents, walking for coffee and groceries at Milam’s (this is the grocery chain’s first location established in 1984), and long-closed tenants that once defined the center. Some recalled Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly before Milam’s, Mario the Baker’s garlic bread, and the vintage Red Bird sign that still lives on the property to this day.
Longtime Patrons of Milam’s, Matsuri, and Gilbert’s Are Tense
Red Bird Shopping Center is situated in the heart of Coral Gables and South Miami, surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The 92,000-square-foot retail property was sold to Asana Partners after nearly four decades under the same ownership. The Brandon Co., which acquired the center in 1986 for $6.5 million, sold the property for $62.1 million, according to Commercial Edge…