Miami Dade College’s board of trustees doubled down on its controversial plan to hand over a prime downtown parcel for Donald Trump’s $950 million presidential library.
The board unanimously reapproved the land transfer on Tuesday at a packed morning meeting in Hialeah, the Miami Herald reported.
The redo vote resulted from a pending lawsuit alleging the college violated Florida’s public meeting laws by not adequately advertising the first time the board voted on the deal in September.
The complaint, filed by Miami activist and historian Marvin Dunn, accused the board of quietly advancing the land transfer with no public debate and minimal disclosure about how the deal came to fruition. The site is a 2.6-acre college employee parking lot at 500-540 Biscayne Boulevard, adjacent to the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami.
Nearly 100 residents, activists, students and political figures turned out for the second vote, sharply splitting between supporters who framed the project as an economic win, and critics who blasted it as a “land giveaway” to a foundation run by the 47th president’s family members.
Dunn said he plans to press ahead with his lawsuit despite Tuesday’s outcome.
The board voted to transfer the land to the state of Florida.
Previously, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to give the 2.6 acres to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, which is led by Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, Michael Boulos — husband of daughter Tiffany Trump — and presidential attorney James Kiley. The governor and the cabinet members are expected to hold their own redo vote as well.
The foundation is planning a high-rise complex that includes the library and a residential tower. The pitch stands in stark contrast to a 2016 request for proposals on the same property, when the college sought at least $20 million in cash plus a student-serving cultural center and other commitments. That effort fizzled, and the lot remained undeveloped.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mavel Ruiz ruled in Dunn’s favor, prohibiting the college from transferring the deed while the case went to trial in August. But the judge signaled that a new, properly noticed vote could clear the way for the deal.
– Francisco Alvarado
