A judge on Thursday cleared the way for Miami Dade College to hand over a valuable downtown Miami site for use as Donald Trump’s presidential library, dismissing a lawsuit that accused the school of violating state transparency laws.
The ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mavel Ruiz lifts a temporary injunction blocking the college from transferring a parking lot at 500-540 Biscayne Boulevard – adjacent to the historic Freedom Tower – to the state, the Miami Herald reported.
State officials plan to turn over the site to the nonprofit foundation run by Trump family members to build the planned $950 million project which would entail a high-rise mixed-use complex.
Miami historian and activist Dr. Marvin Dunn sued Miami Dade College to stop the transfer, alleging the school’s board of trustees violated Florida’s public records and public meetings laws when it first voted to hand over the site in September.
Earlier this month, the board held a redo vote during a packed public hearing in Hialeah, in which dozens of speakers objected to the giveaway. The outcome was the same: a unanimous vote to transfer the land to a state board composed of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s cabinet members, all of whom are Republicans.
Ruiz determined that the college’s second vote met the requirements of Florida’s Sunshine Law, curing the alleged transparency issues that tainted the initial approval.
Dunn alleged trustees failed to properly inform the public before their first vote, which occurred during a special meeting with little discussion or disclosure about the property. Ruiz initially sided with Dunn, halting the deal and setting an August trial date.
The foundation leading the fundraising efforts plans to raise an estimated $950 million over the next three years while Trump is still in office, according to filings with the Internal Revenue Service. Major donors that pledged to the effort this year include ABC News at $15 million, CBS News at nearly $16 million and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta at $22 million.
The foundation has already spent $400,000 paying its directors and trustees: the president’s son Eric Trump of the Trump Organization; Michael Boulous, the husband of the president’s daughter Tiffany Trump; and James Kiley, an attorney for the president.