Lawsuit seeks to block transfer of property for Trump library

May 14 (UPI) -- A group of South Florida residents filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block the state from selling the property planned for President Donald Trump's presidential library.

The suit alleges that the transfer of the high-value property owned by Miami Dade College is worth millions, while Trump is only paying $10, violating the Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution. That clause bans states from giving a financial benefit to a sitting president.

The property is valued at $63 million but would likely fetch hundreds of millions on the open market, the suit said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis moved in September to donate 2.63 acres of state-owned land in downtown Miami to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc. The foundation is a nonprofit created last year by Trump's son Eric Trump, his son-in-law Michael Boulos and James Kiley, a Trump Organization lawyer.

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Trump has said the building would house a hotel or offices.

"I don't believe in building libraries or museums," Trump told reporters last year. He also said the land is on the "best block in Miami."

The plaintiffs said Trump's comments "make clear that President Trump intends to monetize this skyscraper, generating significant profit for himself and his family."

They said selling the land at its market value could double the college's endowment.

"These funds could have been used to advance the college's research needs, offer more bachelor's degree programs, secure more world-class facilities and faculty, or reduce student expenses," it said.

The land "is no longer available to serve MDC's student community and Downtown Miami," the plaintiffs wrote. "Instead, the land will house a Trump hotel that brings riches to the President."

The suit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by the Constitutional Accountability Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank, and the Florida law firm Gelber Schachter & Greenberg.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include a Miami Dade College student, a nonprofit that hoped to use the land and two Miami residents who say the skyscraper would block their views.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle did not address the lawsuit but told CNN that the library would be "one of the most magnificent buildings in the world and a living testament to the indelible impact" of Trump.

In October, a Miami court blocked the transfer until a final ruling on a suit that alleged that the trustees of Miami Dade College -- who were hand-picked by DeSantis -- violated Florida's Sunshine Law. During a Sept. 23 meeting of the trustees, they voted to transfer the land, purchased for $25 million in 2004, to the state cabinet for no cost. That case is ongoing.

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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference on anti-fraud initiatives in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Wednesday. Photo by Daniel Heuer/UPI | License Photo