Miami-Dade College board transferred downtown land to Trump library foundation without public notice

On September 23, 2025, Miami-Dade College's Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting with no advance public notice and voted to transfer a 2.63-acre parcel of downtown Miami land -- a former college parking lot on Biscayne Boulevard, appraised at $67 million and, per real-estate estimates, potentially worth as much as $300 million -- into a state fund controlled by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state fund then routed the land to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation. The college had purchased the site for $24 million in 2004; it received no compensation for the transfer and has since faced up to $300,000 in its own legal costs defending the deal in court.

Shortly after the vote, Attorney General James Uthmeier publicly announced plans for the Trump library on the site. Historian and civil-rights advocate Marvin Dunn sued, arguing the board's emergency meeting violated Florida's Government in the Sunshine open-meetings law by giving the public no notice or opportunity to comment before a major public asset was given away.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz found the college's notice inadequate and granted Dunn a temporary injunction blocking the transfer while the case proceeded. Facing that legal exposure, the board did not simply defend the original vote -- it staged a second, public vote months later, a step the board itself treated as necessary to cure the transparency defect the first vote lacked.

Updates

2025-10 — Judge grants injunction blocking the land transfer [2]

Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz sided with Marvin Dunn's Sunshine Law suit and granted a temporary injunction blocking Miami-Dade College from formally transferring the land, finding the college's September notice had been inadequate.

2025-11-24 — Judge sets August 2026 trial date [2]

Ruiz declined the college's request to pause the case pending an appellate ruling and instead scheduled a trial to begin August 3, 2026, while noting the date could change depending on how the appeal proceeded.

2025-12-02 — Board holds second, public vote reaffirming the transfer [4]

Facing the injunction, Miami-Dade College's board held a second special meeting, this one with advance notice, at its Hialeah campus. More than 100 members of the public spoke, most against the transfer, in a meeting lasting more than four hours. The board again voted unanimously to give the land away, again receiving no compensation.

2025-12-18 — Judge dismisses the complaint and lifts the injunction [3]

Ruiz ruled that the board's redo vote had cured the original notice violation, dismissed Dunn's complaint without prejudice, and lifted the injunction, saying her decision was "not rooted in politics" and rested solely on the Sunshine Law's notice requirement. At the same hearing, according to court records, Ruiz thanked Dunn -- noting he had taken out a mortgage to fund the suit -- and briefly hugged him after the proceeding.

2026-04-30 — Appeals court disqualifies judge over appearance of bias [5]

Florida's Third District Court of Appeal ruled that Ruiz's conduct at the December 18 hearing showed an appearance of bias and disqualified her from presiding over any further proceedings in the case.

2026-01 — College deeds land to state trust fund for $10 [6]

Miami-Dade College transferred the parcel to Florida's Internal Improvement Trust Fund for $10, property records showed.

2026-02 — State deeds land to Trump library foundation for $10; construction required within five years [6]

The Internal Improvement Trust Fund deeded the property to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation for another $10 in a quitclaim deed, property records showed. As part of the deed, the foundation must begin construction on the library within five years.

2026-08-18 — Judge Ruiz voted off the bench in judicial election [7, 8]

Miami-Dade voters defeated Ruiz in the 11th Judicial Circuit's Group 67 election, replacing her with challenger Destiny Alvarez after more than a decade on the bench. Coverage of the race tied the outcome to her handling of the Trump library case, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier publicly praised Alvarez's win.

2026-08-23 — College reports no compensation, up to $300,000 in legal costs; case still active [1]

Florida Phoenix reported the college had received no money for the land and had incurred up to $300,000 in its own legal fees defending the transfer. Per Dunn, his suit remained active -- since reassigned following Ruiz's disqualification -- with a ruling on whether it continues expected October 1, 2026.