The board of a South Florida college is appealing a judge’s ruling that temporarily blocks officials from giving away a parcel of prime real estate in downtown Miami. The property is intended to be used for President Donald Trump’s future presidential library.
Attorneys for the District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College filed a notice of appeal in Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal on Tuesday. They are challenging a lower court’s injunction that bars the transfer of the property, at least for now.
Last month, Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz sided with a Miami activist who alleged that college officials violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted the sizable plot of real estate to the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top Florida officials had voted to transfer the property to the foundation for the planned library.
Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed the lawsuit. He argued that the college board violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on September 23, when it voted to give up the land.
The property in question is nearly 3 acres (1.2 hectares) and is considered a developer’s dream. It is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser. One real estate expert speculated that the parcel—one of the last undeveloped lots on the iconic, palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard—could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.
The parties are expected to appear before the Miami-Dade judge again on November 24. At that time, attorneys for the college plan to ask the court to stay its proceedings pending the appellate court’s review.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/college-appeals-ruling-blocking-miami-land-transfer-for-trump-presidential-library/
