Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials have approved the transfer of a parking lot near Miami’s Freedom Tower for the development of a presidential library honoring Donald Trump. The decision was made as part of the state’s Internal Improvement Trust Fund board, with unanimous votes from DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
The 2.6-acre property at 500-540 Biscayne Boulevard will be deeded for the project, which may also include a hotel according to published reports. The site is currently used as a parking lot by Miami Dade College employees.
This action follows last week’s vote by the Miami Dade College board of trustees to give the land to the state. The college originally purchased the parcel in 2004 for $25 million. Previous efforts to develop this property were unsuccessful.
Miami-Dade College also owns Freedom Tower, a historic building in downtown Miami that recently reopened after a $25 million renovation. Built in 1925, Freedom Tower is known for serving as a refugee center for Cuban immigrants during the 1960s and 1970s.
Governor DeSantis stated, “Having the Trump Presidential Library in Miami will be good for Florida, for the city, and for Miami Dade College.” This would mark Florida’s first presidential library.
Donald Trump maintains his primary residence at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. Eric Trump, one of Trump’s sons and co-leader of The Trump Organization, confirmed that the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation is dedicated to building the library on this site adjacent to Freedom Tower.
Eric Trump commented on X: “It will be the greatest Presidential Library ever built, honoring the greatest President our Nation has ever known,” adding that it “will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an Icon on the Miami skyline.”
