Donald Trump's plan for a $130 million'presidential library'tower in downtown Miami has come under fresh pressure after a group of local residents filed a lawsuit in Florida, alleging the waterfront site was effectively handed to him for $10 while he was in office. The claim raises new questions over how the land was transferred and whether the arrangement breached the US Constitution.
The lawsuit follows months of scrutiny over the origins of the project and the way it was financed. In 2024, a 2.6 acre parcel of prime Miami land, previously owned by Miami Dade College, was transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation. According to the complaint, the site had been valued at between $67 million and $300 million, yet changed hands for a nominal $10. The plaintiffs argue that the deal amounted to an improper financial benefit for a sitting president.
The proposed Miami project is not, at least on its public face, a conventional presidential library.Trump told reportersin April that he did not believe in building libraries or museums and instead wanted 'a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby.' Plans for the site include a ballroom, luxury accommodation andtwo golden statues of Trump, but no clear indication of a traditional archive or book collection.
According to the lawsuit, the land transfer was routed through Miami Dade College, a state run institution overseen by a board of trustees appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The plaintiffs accuse DeSantis and the board of using college land to benefit Trump, in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause, which restricts certain financial benefits to a president while in office.
The complaint says the site, now used as a car park in downtown Miami, will no longer be available to serve Miami Dade College students or the wider city centre. Instead, it alleges, the land will be used for a Trump branded development that enriches the president. The residents bringing the case argue that, had the parcel been sold at market value, the proceeds could have been transformative for the public college.
One of the plaintiffs, Marvin Dunn, a professor emeritus and non profit owner, toldThe Washington Posthe was 'horrified' when he saw the plans. 'Clearly it's not a library ... this is about a wrong land grab, at the expense of students in this community,' he said.
As publicly presented, the project sits awkwardly beside the usual idea of a presidential archive. In late March, Trump shared a glossy video rendering showing a soaring tower topped with a red, white and blue spire and the word 'TRUMP' lit up in gold at the summit.
The promotional video shows a grand golden entrance featuring a Trump statue and the presidential seal. Inside, a golden lift appears beside a Boeing 747 that the lawsuit says was valued at $400 million and gifted to Trump by Qatar in 2025. The same renderings show an exhibition hall of US military aircraft and alavish ballroomthat, according to the complaint, resembles a separate $400 million project Trump is building at the White House.
If you imagined Trump’s presidential library as a corporate glass tower with giant TRUMP lettering, a massive flag, golden escalators, Air Force One in the lobby, and gilded statues in a "Dear Leader" pose, you were spot on. Watch the video on Archinect:https://t.co/zFsW7f7Ob6pic.twitter.com/Q2eTvOFPen
An Oval Office replica and an auditorium dominated by a second golden Trump statue also appear in the plans. By contrast, the upper floors look more like sleek corporate offices than reading rooms or archival storage. The legal paperwork for the project requires only unspecified 'components' of a presidential 'library, museum, and/or center,' leaving broad room for interpretation.
Source: International Business Times UK
