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Vanilla Ice, Briny Breezes and an agent’s bid to build Donald Trump’s presidential library on a trailer park

Photo by Jorge Vasconez on Unsplash and Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/Getty Images 

Could Briny Breezes, a 43-acre town on Florida’s east coast compromised entirely of a trailer park, be the future site of President Donald Trump’s presidential library? Rapper Vanilla Ice and a local real estate agent think so.

James Arena, a Trump supporter, resident and real estate agent believes he can talk Trump into buying the land and turning it into a “personal monument,” according to a report in the Palm Beach Post

Arena has enlisted Vanilla Ice, a friend of his that’s also close to the Trump family, to put out feelers.

“Vanilla Ice ran it by [the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.],” Arena told the Palm Beach Post. “He called me back and said, ‘Man, I think they’re really into it.’”

Arena’s vision for the site includes turning the site into a tourist attraction with a hotel, marina and restaurants adjacent to the library. He even has the perfect name for the future site: “Trump Town.”

There’s previously been interest in buying the entire town. A developer was reportedly in talks to buy it for $510 million in 2007 and Trump himself has reportedly shown interest in the site in the past, according to the report. The potential 2007 sale would have made residents of the town overnight millionaires, the report says.

The current value of the land, is estimated to be $1 billion, according to the report.

Current owners are in a precarious position in which the cost to repair infrastructure in the town is too expensive so Arena believes it’s best to sell before major problems arise.

Residents are split on selling the land to Trump, however, with one saying he’s not a particularly good risk because of lies, bankruptcies and a history of “not paying people back,” according to the report.

Nonetheless, other residents like the idea and some believe they have no choice, before the health of the town is threatened by the next hurricane.

Email Patrick Kearns

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