The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library project is slated to reach for the heavens.
The Trump Library Foundation released a teaser video on social media Monday showing a massive skyscraper dominating the city’s skyline, dwarfing surrounding towers along Biscayne Boulevard, the Miami Herald reported.
Like the 47th president’s ambitious plan to build a gigantic ballroom at the White House, the Trump library development is big on hyperbole.
“This landmark on the water in Miami, Florida, will stand as a lasting testament to an amazing man, an amazing developer, and the greatest President our Nation has ever known,” the president’s son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and trustee for the library foundation, posted on X.
Technically, the planned $950 million project, which could also include a hotel and other commercial uses, would sit across from Biscayne Bay. No residential component is planned, Eric Trump told the Miami Herald.
The development site, worth tens of millions of dollars, at 500-540 Biscayne Boulevard, was donated to the library foundation by the state of Florida. The state acquired the property for free from Miami Dade College in a controversial deal that was temporarily blocked by a lawsuit from Miami historian and civic activist Dr. Marvin Dunn.
The property, currently a surface parking lot for college employees, is adjacent to downtown Miami’s historic Freedom Tower, which would be in the shadow of the presidential library tower.
Designed by Coral Gables-based Bermello Ajamil, the Trump library tower would be a monument to the president’s extravagant design tastes.
The Trump name in all caps is stamped at the top of the high-rise, the teaser video shows. The lobby would feature a replica of Air Force One and a golden escalator. The entrance is covered in gold tiles with a gold statue of Trump. Another gold statue of Trump is the centerpiece of an auditorium. Noticeably missing from the less-than-two-minutes clip: an actual library with books.
The library foundation expects to raise the estimated $950 million to build the project over the next two years while Trump is still in office, Internal Revenue Service filings show.
Last year, ABC News gave $15 million, CBS News donated nearly $16 million, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta gave $22 million.
The foundation has already spent $400,000 paying its directors and trustees. In addition to Eric Trump, other board members include Michael Boulous, the husband of the president’s daughter Tiffany Trump; and James Kiley, an attorney for the President.
— Francisco Alvarado
