Back in 2012, Donald Trump had big plans for Homestead.
So big that he sent his attorney, Michael Cohen, to pitch the Miami-Dade County Commission on Trump Studio City, an 800-acre production facility on county-owned land near Homestead.
Cohen is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation that reportedly includes suspected bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations. He said Thursday that he will plead the fifth amendment in the Stormy Daniels case tied to his $130,000 payment to the adult film star, allegedly on Trump’s behalf.
Trump’s Homestead production facility proposal never came to fruition, but he went so far as to hire John Fotiadis Architect to draw up plans for the project, which was later renamed Trump World Studios, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The now-president imagined a residential, commercial, retail and restaurant complex with streets and a main plaza. The production facility would include sound studios, backlots and a housing complex for employees. Two months after Trump discussed the idea with county commissioner Joe Martinez, Cohen was pitching it to the commission, according to the Miami Herald.
That same year, Cohen was also involved in Trump’s purchase of the former Marriott Doral. [Hollywood Reporter and Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis