Florida judge temporarily blocks transfer of downtown Miami land for
Trump's presidential library
[October 15, 2025]
By KATE PAYNE
A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the planned transfer of
prime downtown Miami land for President Donald Trump’s future
presidential library.
The move by Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz came after a Miami activist alleged
that officials at a local college violated Florida's open government law
when they gifted the sizable plot of real estate to the state, which
then voted to transfer it to the foundation for the planned library.
“This is not an easy decision,” Mavel said Tuesday when explaining her
ruling from the bench, finding that the college didn't give the public
reasonable notice ahead of the vote last month.
“This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics,” she
added.
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 real estate expert wagered
that the parcel — one of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch
of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard — could sell for hundreds of
millions of dollars more.
Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed a
lawsuit this month in a Miami-Dade County court against the Board of
Trustees for Miami Dade College, a state-run school that owned the
property. He alleged 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.
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.
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A week later, DeSantis and other top GOP officials voted to transfer
the land again, effectively putting the property under the control
of the Trump family when they deeded it to the foundation for
Trump’s library. That foundation is led by three trustees: Eric
Trump, Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos, and the president’s
attorney James Kiley.
Jesus Suarez, an attorney for the college, argued that MDC did what
was required under the law and questioned Dunn's political
motivations for filing the case.
“There is no requirement under Florida law that there be specificity
on notice, because those trustees can come into that room and talk
to each other about whatever they wish,” Suarez said.
Attorneys for Dunn maintain that no one who wasn't already in on the
deal could have known what the board would do.
“The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do
when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the
students and the college of this land,” said plaintiff's attorney
Richard Brodsky, speaking with The Associated Press prior to the
judge's decision.
Javier Ley-Soto, general counsel for Miami Dade College, testified
that it is still in the process of finalizing the land transfer.
Delays caused by an injunction could cost the college up to
$300,000, he estimated.
Other Florida locations had previously been floated as library
sites, including properties associated with Florida Atlantic
University in Boca Raton and Florida International University in
suburban Miami. 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.
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