Is The Trump Presidential Library Moving Next To The Freedom Tower?

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted unanimously Tuesday morning to convey a 2.63-acre lot, previously owned by Miami Dade College and that sits next to the Freedom Tower, for construction of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.

“Having the Trump Presidential Library in Miami will be good for Florida, for the city and for Miami Dade College,” DeSantis wrote in a press release. 

Eric Trump, who serves as executive vice president of The Trump Organization and is the president’s son, wrote on X Tuesday morning: “Consistent with our families DNA, this will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an Icon on the Miami skyline.”

Last Tuesday, MDC’s Board of Trustees held a meeting at Hialeah Campus and unanimously voted to convey the land, which is valued at $67 million, to the State of Florida for the construction of the library.

Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega did not respond to an email from The Reporter on Tuesday concerning the decision.

According to MDC Board of Trustees Vice Chair Roberto Alonso, the meeting was set up following a request made to Pumariega’s office by DeSantis on Sept. 16 to cede the land to the state.

That same day, a special board meeting notice was posted to MDC’s website with a vague agenda that said they were going to discuss potential real-estate transactions. The gathering was not livestreamed.

“We may not be receiving monetary [value], but everything in life is not just the monetary value, but it’s the value in which it brings to the institution,” Alonso said. He later added, “By having a presidential library, it really opens up our ideas, it opens up innovation, it opens up the ability for our students to go in there and truly understand what the greatest nation is all about.”

Several community members expressed outrage at the College’s decision, including MDC President Emeritus Eduardo J. Padrón, who oversaw the school when the College acquired the land.

“It’s very difficult to understand this because the public has not had a chance to even have a say on this,” Padrón said in an interview with WLRN. “It’s just frankly unimaginable that this decision was made without any real discussion of the consequences of what that will do to the College.”

Marvin Dunn, a retired Florida International University professor, filed a legal complaint at the Office of the Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and a lawsuit with the circuit court of the eleventh judicial circuit of Miami-Dade County, accusing the MDC Board of Trustees of violating the Florida Sunshine Law. 

The Florida Sunshine Law states that meetings and records of the state’s governmental bodies must be made available to the public, including the minutes of meetings and a public notice of such gatherings taking place.

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade County eleventh circuit court judge Mavel Ruiz blocked MDC from conveying the land to the State of Florida on Oct. 14. The court believes that the notice was not sufficient enough to inform the public of the meeting.

The College must now decide between holding a new public Board of Trustees meeting to discuss the land transfer as Dunn requested, or continue to argue in court that the meeting notice was reasonable under the Florida Sunshine Law.

“We’re going to ask the court to stop the giveaway until a public hearing, a public process can be conducted, during which students, faculty and the general public can have input on this giveaway of the land,” Dunn said.

A protest organized by Dunn opposing the construction of the library occurred on Sept. 29 at 600 Biscayne Blvd. Approximately 50 people attended the demonstration, with signs reading “MDC RESCIND THE DEAL” and “NO TRUMP LIBRARY.” 

“It was a disastrous thing to happen to our youth and our community…that land belongs to our children. That land belongs to the students of Miami Dade College,” Dunn said.

On Tuesday, various students at Wolfson Campus also expressed concern with the College’s decision to transfer ownership of the land to the state.  

“Given the fact that a majority of people that live in this area or come to this area are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants, it kind of makes you question your safety [a little bit], in terms of having a library named after someone who’s, so for deportation,” said Rowan Elizabeth, a senior at New World School of the Arts.

The property, located next to the iconic Freedom Tower, was being used as a parking lot for MDC faculty and staff. It’s between Northeast Fifth Street and Northeast Sixth Street and faces Biscayne Boulevard.  

In June, the Miami Herald reported that Eric Trump visited different properties in Downtown Miami to find a location for the library. 

There were rumors this summer that land owned by FIU and Florida Atlantic University was also being considered for the library.

“It’s a great idea, in my opinion…libraries are always good, it’s really good to have a space for a lot of people… they could read some books or work,” said a student at Wolfson Campus who asked to remain anonymous.

Reporter staff Louis Rosasco, Lucas Duarte and Sophia Arenas contributed to this story.

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