Lawsuit challenges vote to gift prime Miami real estate for Trump’s presidential library

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Miami activist alleges that city officials violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted a sizable plot of prime downtown real estate to the state, which then transferred it to the foundation for Donald Trump’s future presidential library.

The nearly 3-acre (1.2-hectare) property is a developer’s dream and is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser. One of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard, one real estate expert wagered that the parcel could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.

Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed a lawsuit Monday in a Miami-Dade County court against the Board of Trustees for Miami Dade College, a state-run school that previously owned the property. He alleges that the board violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on Sept. 23, when it voted to give up the land, and he’s seeking to block the land transfer.

Representatives for the college didn’t immediately respond to a Tuesday request seeking comment.

An agenda released ahead of the meeting simply stated the board would consider conveying property to a state fund overseen by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet, but provided no details on which piece of property was being considered or why. Unlike every other meeting the board has held this year, the 8 a.m. meeting on Sept. 23 was not livestreamed.

“No one not already in on the deal would have had any idea from this ‘notice’ of what the District Board of Trustees was actually planning to do,” the lawsuit states.

At 8:14 a.m., DeSantis’ press office sent out an email announcing he would propose gifting the land for Trump’s presidential library.

A week later, the governor and his Cabinet made it official, effectively putting the property under the control of the Trump family when they deeded the land to the foundation for Trump’s library. The foundation is led by three trustees: Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos, and the president’s attorney James Kiley.

Flanked by glitzy condos, the property overlooks a waterfront park and is across the street from the Miami Heat’s arena. Miami Dade College had used it as an employee parking lot, though two decades ago the property was eyed for a major expansion of the college’s downtown campus, according to a 2006 report by Miami News.

DeSantis has touted the potential benefits the college could see from the presidential library development, though the land deal doesn’t guarantee any commitments to the school, which is one of the nation’s largest institutions of higher education. The deal only specifies that the parcel must contain “components” of a presidential library or center, with construction starting within five years.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.