By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The state of Florida has approved a plan to donate a property near downtown Miami for the site of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday.
The lot has an appraised value of about $66 million, according to media reports, but it could sell for at least $360 million, The New York Times reported, citing a real estate consultant.
The 2.63-acre property with waterfront views is currently used as an employee parking lot for the Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. It is adjacent to the historic Freedom Tower, which served as a Cuban refugee center in the 1960s and 1970s.
DeSantis said the library will be good for Miami and for Florida, adding that no other state has supported Trump’s agenda the way Florida has.
The White House referred requests for comment to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, which described Miami as a “booming corridor” of finance, trade, tourism and technology.
“No monument can fully capture the scale of my father’s legacy, but this library will stand as a tribute to the leader who reshaped history and restored America’s strength,” said Eric Trump, president of the library foundation.
“Once completed, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library will be visible for miles into the Atlantic, a bold landmark on Miami’s skyline and a lasting tribute to the achievements my father continues to deliver for this nation.”
Presidential libraries have been used to preserve documents, records and other historical materials of U.S. presidents after they leave office. They are part of a system administered by the National Archives and sometimes feature museum exhibitions related to the president.
The libraries are historically established in a president’s home state. Although Trump is from New York, he switched his official residency to the state of Florida in 2019, spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, his residence on a barrier island in Palm Beach.
Trump served as president from 2017 through 2021 and returned to the White House for a second term in January.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Edmund Klamann)
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