Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to give the parcel appraised at more than $66 million to the foundation that’s planning the president’s post-administration archives, arguing that the property owned by the state-run Miami Dade College would provide a “greater benefit to the public” and “increase economic development activities” as Trump’s library.
The property is flanked by glitzy condos in an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard, overlooking the waterfront park and across the street from the basketball arena that’s home to the Miami Heat. Miami Dade College has used it as an employee parking lot.
Under the state constitution, the gifting of certain state properties requires approval by a collective decision-making body comprised of the attorney general, the chief financial officer and the commissioner of agriculture as well as the governor.
“It will be the greatest Presidential Library ever built, honoring the greatest President,” Eric Trump said in a social media post.
Locations associated with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in suburban Miami had previously been floated as potential library sites. DeSantis signed a bill this year preempting local governments from blocking development of a presidential library, aiming to overrule potential opposition in liberal-leaning counties or municipalities.
