Hialeah approves $8 million for museum in JFK Library despite residents’ opposition

Hialeah admin September 23, 2026 0 Comments

Hialeah approves $8 million for museum in JFK Library despite residents’ opposition

The Hialeah City Council unanimously approved a $514 million budget for 2027 on Tuesday that includes $8 million for a project to transform the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library into a combined history museum and library, despite growing opposition from residents who urged the city to preserve the building as a full-service library.

The budget includes $55.4 million for capital projects. The JFK project would convert the first floor of the 61-year-old building into a museum and move the library to a smaller second-floor mezzanine.

But Mayor Bryan Calvo emphasized during the budget hearing that Tuesday’s vote did not approve a final design or authorize a specific library renovation.

“There’s been no final plans,” Calvo said. “There’s not even been an actual design company that’s been retained in order to go through the process.”

Calvo described the proposal as an idea that will be developed during the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

“It’s basically what it is, is an idea that then gets flushed out over the course of the whole year,” he said. “The likelihood of us discussing anything tangible regarding the library will probably be at least six months from now.”

Residents nevertheless came to the hearing prepared to oppose the proposal.

“I’m here tonight to voice my opposition to the proposed budget as it relates to the transformation of JFK Library,” Ileana Rodriguez told the council. “Let me state that a history museum is a lovely plan, but I strongly believe it should be built elsewhere, in another vacant lot within the city.”

Days before the vote, residents launched a petition on Change.org asking the mayor and council to ”save Hialeah’s John F. Library”. By Tuesday night, more than 800 people had signed it, according to the petition, with 26 leaving comments.

“A library is a sanctuary!!!” wrote one signer, identified only as Idania.

The petition describes the JFK Library as a critical community resource for children, families and seniors who depend on its books, computers, study rooms, tutoring and educational programs.

READ MORE: ‘Save JFK Library’: Hialeah residents rally against $8 million museum plan

The library opened in 1965 and has itself become part of Hialeah’s history.

A plan before the project moves forward

Gilda Palladares, a writer who has participated in the Café Literario Book Club program at the JFK Library every weekend since it was created more than a decade ago, said the city should provide a plan before moving forward.

“It is difficult to approve the creation of a museum within the library when we still lack a preliminary plan that clearly outlines what is intended and what the consequences would be,” Palladares, who has written novels, children’s stories, essays and poetry, told the council. “Before approving a budget and starting construction, we need to know which current library activities can continue, which will have to be suspended, and which will be relocated to another institution.”

Palladares also questioned how the museum and library would share the building.

“We also need to know how the space will be laid out, specifically which area will be allocated to the library and which space the new facility will occupy,” she said. “Without that information, it is hard to assess whether the project truly meets the needs of the institution and its users.”

Calvo said those details have not yet been determined. He told residents that the city wants their input as the concept develops and said the goal is not to diminish the library.

“Nobody wants to reduce by any means the library. The opposite. We want to augment it,” Calvo said. “We want to make it better. We want to make it nicer.”

Calvo said he grew up using the library and wants to preserve the memories associated with the building.

“I’m someone that I grew up in the library,” he said. “I remember it as a child, and those are good memories and those are things that we want to preserve.”

He said the city wants to invest in the facility for decades to come.

“We want to invest for not just the next 10 years, but the next 50 years of what that library can be and should be,” Calvo said.

The concept

Although there is no final design, the concept presented by the city calls for the museum to occupy the building’s first floor, according to Chief Financial Officer Pedro De Faria.

The library would move to a second floor mezzanine that is roughly one third the size of the existing main floor.

The proposed museum could include Hialeah’s collection of antique cars, photographs, paintings and other historical materials. City officials have also discussed possible changes to the building’s exterior, including glass and lighting. Some existing murals could be removed as part of the renovation.

Calvo has described the museum as a way to showcase Hialeah’s history and attract school field trips. But residents who spoke Tuesday questioned whether creating that museum should come at the expense of library space.

Anthony Amador, who introduced himself as a middle -chool teacher who teaches civics and history, urged the council to reconsider.

“It’s difficult for this council, in good conscience, to vote on and approve that matter,” Amador said. “Whether it’s a library or a school or any other public facility, but especially something that is the heart of so much community like the John F. Kennedy Library.”

Amador said the building represents more than nostalgia.

“It’s not something to use to distract from local scandals,” he said. “It’s the livelihood of so many of its memories. It’s precious. Don’t treat it as something to just do lightly.”

Growing demand

The debate over the building comes as the city prepares to eliminate 18 part-time library positions beginning Oct. 1. The 2027 budget includes 17 full-time library positions.

Residents who spoke about the proposal said the city should address existing needs, including technology, electrical outlets, tutoring space and longer hours, before reducing the library’s footprint.

The city’s library system recorded 227,579 visits last year, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.

For the residents who organized against the proposal, that process will now be the next test: whether the city can preserve what makes the JFK Library useful to the community while creating the museum officials envision.